


The Nation That Got Better

by LB_Mamba



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: 2020 L'Manberg Election on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arguing, Boar Hybrid Wilbur Soot, Duck Hybrid Alexis | Quackity, Everyone finds happiness because I said so, Fix-It, Fox Hybrid Floris | Fundy, Frog Hybrid Karl Jacobs, Gen, Good Jschlatt (Video Blogging RPF), Happy Ending, I love canon but it does not spark joy, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Jschlatt-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Manberg Administration but with a twist, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Raccoon Hybrid TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Ram Hybrid Toby Smith | Tubbo, Self-Indulgent, Sheep Hybrid Jschlatt (Video Blogging RPF), Swearing, Time Travel, Time traveller Karl Jacobs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:47:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28838769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LB_Mamba/pseuds/LB_Mamba
Summary: L'Manberg is dead. There is no way for it to come back after that final explosion. It is completely destroyed, its people are divided, and its enemies reign supreme. There is no way to save it, not anymore.Not in this timeline, at least. But perhaps coming back to the source of all these events could change things, allow at least one version of L'Manberg to survive and prosper.Sadly, everything depends on a single man. Schlatt.But perhaps the ram isn't as cruel as he seems.Perhaps there is still hope for L'Manberg."Come, gather around, everyone, for I am about to tell you the tale of the nation that got better."
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity & GeorgeNotFound, Alexis | Quackity & Jschlatt, Alexis | Quackity & Karl Jacobs, Floris | Fundy & Jschlatt, Floris | Fundy & Niki | Nihachu, Floris | Fundy & Wilbur Soot, Jschlatt & Niki | Nihachu, Jschlatt & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Jschlatt & Wilbur Soot, Karl Jacobs & Jschlatt, Luke | Punz & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Comments: 83
Kudos: 241





	1. The Visitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Schlatt thinks back on everything that has happened so far, before being interrupted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there !  
> Back at it with another Schlatt-centric huh ? Am I a simp ? Perhaps :)  
> But woo first time posting a fic that is longer than 4 chapters and not pre-written here !  
> I've been preparing this since, like, before Tommy's exile, and I haven't stopped adding elements since... this was supposed to be a one-shot at first but now there are going to be at least 15 chapters X)  
> Don't worry, there may be only 4 characters and relationships for now, but that is going to change very soon (and by that, I mean that I am planning on incorporating around 26 of the members of the Dream SMP !)  
> This is very much not canon, as you may have guessed, but though the main change is going to come in like, two chapters, and completely turn the story around, you can already see a few modifications, mainly related to ages and hybrids.  
> And yes ! I said it in the tags and I'll say it again, this is going to have a happy ending ! For everyone ! Down with the angst, boys, they're going to be a big happy nation :D Canon is absolutely neat but Jesus can they breathe for like half a second  
> Uh, apart from that, I can't promise that I will post regularly, but I can try to do it at least once every two weeks ? Really not set in stone though :')  
> Hm... I think that's all, sooo I hope you'll enjoy reading this !

The deep red tint of his wine seemed to mirror his own melancholy. Schlatt stared at it for a few seconds before looking away, a deep sigh escaping his lips.

He should have been happy, excited, perhaps even anxious. There was a single night left before the results of the elections came in, after all. In only a handful of hours, he would be standing in front of a crowd, either grinning in victory or hiding in shame.

Yet all he felt was this strange emptiness inside of his chest.

He wasn't sure why. His odds of winning were rather good, after all. Sure, he wouldn't have stood a chance against Wilbur if he had stood alone, but with Quackity by his side ? With all of their votes combined ? Wilbur would have to be the most appreciated president in History to manage to win against that. Then again, perhaps he was. He wasn't sure anymore.

He didn't even exactly recognize him. The man he had known. His friend.

They had been through so much together, during their youths. They had seen it all and come out of it laughing loudly. Sure, things had been rough sometimes, but they had always managed to go back to normal. No matter the troubles, no matter the hardships, they had been there for each other. That was just how it always had been.

But then Wilbur had gone away, disappeared for years. Schlatt had tried to look for him, but he hadn't found anything. Any trace of him. And after all, maybe they had not known that much about each other, he had realized after attempting and failing to contact the man's family.

So he had let go. Had done his own thing, his own business. Had managed to gather influence, to gather money, to gather power. He had become a successful businessman. He had always been good at lying and scamming people, after all.

But then he had heard tales. Rumors of a region, far away, ruled by an all-powerful man, and rumors of the rebels who had tried to oppose him. Rumors of an insurrection, of a war for freedom and for independence. Rumors of their victory. Rumors of their new nation.

_L'Manberg._

The name had sounded familiar to Schlatt's ears.

Probably because it had already been mentioned by a man, by his friend, years earlier, years before the nation had become a reality.

"Imagine a place," Wilbur had once said as they were lying in the grass, reaching out for the sky, "where all people could be equal. Humans, hybrids, everyone. Where there would he no rulers above the rest of the world, where men could go to be free and happy. Women and everyone else too, of course. But imagine !"

Schlatt had smiled, letting out a soft chuckle as he had laid his hands behind his head.

"Sure sounds like a utopia."

"It does, doesn't it ? I mean... I know it may seem unrealistic. I know it won't happen in a single day. But I want to make a better world for my child. I want them to grow up in a place that accepts them for who they are. A world we didn't get. I want them to look up and smile and say "I'm proud of who I am." I refuse to let them live in fear or in shame, like we, and everyone like us, did. If I can create that place, then I think I'll have filled my purpose in this world."

"Wow. You seem to be really attached to this fictional city."

"It won't be just a city, Schlatt. It will be a nation. My nation. My L'Manberg."

On that day, Schlatt had giggled.

When he had found out about the newly founded nation of L'Manberg, he hadn't been able to make a single sound.

It had been a shock, a punch to the gut. Discovering that his ex-best friend, who he had thought had either abandoned him or died, had in fact managed to not only survive, but also fulfill his dearest wish. His most important purpose.

He remembered going around, asking for information, for confirmation, for a proof of his friend's achievement. And when he had got it, he had made himself a promise. A promise to go and witness the dream that had come true. To congratulate his friend, perhaps remind him of his existence, and to talk for a while about everything new.

So he had traveled to L'Manberg, leaving his company in the hands of his closest friend and business partner, Connor, the one person he trusted enough to keep the boat afloat in his absence. He had gone all the way to the country, to see for himself what had become of his friend and of his dream.

He had been astonished.

Not only had Wilbur built a nation, but he had fought for it. He had lead a revolution, battled in a war against an empire and its mysterious, powerful leader, rallied soldiers under his banner, and put his life in danger for the sake of his utopia.

And he had done it. He had won.

He had become president of L'Manberg. Perhaps not the first, but one of the few hybrid-led nations in the world. Small, but victorious, and ready to fight for its honor.

And Schlatt had been willing to applaud them. To applaud Wilbur. To congratulate him and tell him how much he had missed him.

But then things had gone downhill.

When he had arrived, there had been events brewing. People were preparing for the first elections of L'Manberg, because they had been discussing the legitimacy of the boar as self-proclaimed leader of a democratic country, doubting his authority. Wilbur had wanted to prove himself to be right by being legally elected by his people, expecting them to offer no resistance or opposition.

Except they had.

Quackity. A young man, a duck whose wings had only recently lost their golden hue, a naive boy, full of ambition, but also in need of recognition. He had stood in front of Wilbur and announced his participation as a candidate for the elections.

He had caused an uproar, of course. He had divided people and made them question their opinions, especially when he had announced George to be his vice president. George, the man known for being one of Dream's closest friends, an enemy to L'Manberg. But he had brought change, he had brought hope, and with that, a new opponent had risen.

Fundy. Wilbur's own son – though Schlatt hadn't known of his existence until he had arrived to the country, and the fox was already twenty-one, which meant that he had to have been adopted. A shock to everyone, of course, especially his dear father.

What had caused him to be a candidate in the elections ? Late teenage rebellion ? Or something more personal ? No one really knew, but he had still decided to create his own party, with the help of Nihachu, the local baker.

Pog2020, Swag2020, Coconut2020. Boring names. None of them had really grabbed Schlatt's attention, but he hadn't intended to vote anyway. He hadn't even been a citizen of L'Manberg at the time.

None of that had been any of his business, really. He had just wanted to have a discussion or two with Wilbur, to try and understand what had happened all those years ago.

But when they had finally met again, the boar had barely payed attention to his questions. He had welcomed him, yes, he had told him again and again how much he had been happy to see him again ; and yet each time Schlatt had tried to ask him for an explanation, he had danced around the subject, either ignoring or brushing off each of his attempts.

And the ram was neither a patient man nor someone who appreciated being taken for an idiot.

Still, he'd held his tongue, feeling that that moment was not the right one to lash out at the other, and he had been right. Not even a dozen minutes into the conversation, Wilbur had adopted the very characteristic face of a person trying to ask for a favor. And Schlatt had listened, of course.

"I would like you to endorse me. I presume you've heard about the elections happening soon ? Well you have money, you have power, you have influence, and I need your help to win this. I'm not worried, of course, but... I need an insurance. I need to be sure that I won't lose everything I've worked for. My nation. My L'Manberg."

And there had been something, a sparkle in his eyes.

Possessiveness.

At that exact moment, Schlatt had had a bad feeling. He was, after all, at heart, a businessman ; he knew the intricate grinds of power and he had seen sting before.

Possessiveness had never been a good quality in business. Possessive people tried to keep what they had at all costs. They didn't understand the necessity of taking risks, of letting go of what you had to be rewarded with even more later. They hung on desperately to what they were attached to, and as soon as they were separated from it, they turned to despair.

Wilbur had had that spark, and that could only have gone wrong.

He needed to be either at the head of L'Manberg or far from it. He wasn't going to be able to stand being forced to walk among its streets without being able to claim the power he had over it. And that ? It was bad.

He wasn't going to accept being defeated without a fight, just like he had fought to create the nation.

But he could't be trusted at its head either.

He wouldn't listen to reason, because a win would only confirm what he already thought : he was the best suited to rule over the country, and everyone who suggested otherwise was wrong.

And that was an awful strategy, both in business and in politics.

So Schlatt had nodded. Schlatt had accepted, had claimed he would come to the presidential debate that was going to be held a week from there, a month before the election, and had stepped out of the man's office, grinning back at the boar wishing him a nice day.

The plastic of his counterfeit smile had melted as soon as he had been outside.

There had been no doubt in his mind : he couldn't let Wilbur win these elections.

Except he couldn't exactly just approach any of the other candidates and tell them he was going to endorse them for personal and undisclosed reasons. Not with such a short notice, at least.

So when the day of the debate had come, he had listened to Fundy speak, watched Quackity struggle to keep a strong façade despite both his mate and his endorser failing to show up, and he had waited. Waited for Wilbur to call out to him.

He had stepped onto the stage, smirked at his old friend, looked at the crowd, and fiercely announced his decision.

"I'm running for president myself. Schlatt2020, baby !"

And he had left the stage, giving no time to the crowd or Wilbur to react. The art of performance, he would have answered to anyone who asked him why he had done it that way.

Wilbur had been the friendly candidate, Quackity had been the funny candidate, and Fundy... well, Fundy had already been losing at that point.

But Schlatt knew how to captivate an audience, how to inspire terror and admiration inside of his audience's hearts.

Schlatt had been the powerful candidate.

Wilbur's reaction, of course, when he had managed to catch up with him, had been explosive. Questions, insults, confusion and anger, all at once ; the words "traitor" had been repeated several times as well.

Schlatt had just withstood it all. He had stared at the furious boar demanding answers, and he had smiled.

"I thought you weren't worried about losing ?"

And at that moment, Schlatt had witnessed that sparkle inside Wilbur's eye grow into a flame, his possessiveness turning into madness for a second, and he had felt the distinct impression that the man was going to strangle him.

That had been the losing Wilbur. That had been the threat Schlatt was going to be unable to avoid if he wanted to prevent him from going totalitarian at the top of his nation.

But no, the boar had simply stared at him in disgust, before walking away without saying a single word more.

Something had felt wrong inside of the ram's chest.

He had simply ignored it. Friendships had no place in business, and neither had feelings. He had done what he had thought was right, and if that meant losing his friend, then so be it.

But Wilbur had had influence. He had been the leader of the revolution leading to the creation of the country, of course people would trust him. Pog2020 had been leading in the polls, and though Coconut2020 hadn't stood a chance, neither had Schlatt alone. He hadn't even been there for a month, after all. The citizens couldn't fully trust him, that much had been expected.

Only Quackity had had the potential to win against Wilbur. The ram had played with the idea of associating with him, of standing by his side to avoid letting the current president win ; said idea hadn't satisfied him, though, because that had meant putting himself down to only become a part of Swag2020, and though Schlatt had participated in these elections to make sure Wilbur didn't end up president again, he, the mighty and dominant businessman, hadn't liked the idea of becoming someone's underdog.

Fortunately, he hadn't had to, because the opportunity, or rather Quackity himself, had knocked at his door of his own volition.

"Team up with me," he had said, and without a single word more Schlatt had understood that he, too, had seen that sparkle inside of Wilbur's eyes and that he, too, knew how dangerous letting him win would have been.

He had nodded and invited the duck inside of his home for a drink.

Quackity had explained the reason of his presence, the discussion he had had a few hours earlier with Wilbur, who had come to ask him for his help, for his support. For them to pool their votes. And Quackity had refused, disgusted by the idea, because keeping Wilbur in power had been exactly what he had been trying to fight against, and seeing him now trying to put everything in his favor to make sure to stay president had made him sick. Because he had heard the accents of madness inside of the boar's tone and seen the fire in his heart. And because he was ready to give up on power to avoid seeing L'Manberg ruined by a leader that had gone crazy.

An honest thought process, really. From a man trying to do what he thought was best, and whose opinion and actions happened to align with Schlatt's interests.

He had accepted the deal the duck had offered him, of course.

They would pool their votes, and if they won, Schlatt would be president.

Things were going great.

Yet there Schlatt was, sitting in his living room at two in the morning, a glass of red wine in hand and staring at the wall in the hopes of understanding what was going on inside of his own head.

He didn't feel as ecstatic as the prospect of his imminent victory should have made him feel. There was something else, something negative, a regret maybe ? But why ?

Maybe he was already regretting what he was going to do on the very next day. Then again, he didn't quite have a choice, did he ? He couldn't do anything but-

A sudden crashing noise broke the heavy silence, interrupting his thoughts and startling him enough to almost make him drop his glass.

What the hell was that now ?

Concerned – and maybe just a tiny bit afraid –, Schlatt got up from his couch, trying to make as little noise as possible as he walked to the pot he kept his umbrellas in and grabbed the handle of his iron sword. Not the best he had, but it would have to do.

It was when he turned back towards the kitchen, from which came the noise, that he noticed the eerie green light coming from the doorway.

Now that was weird. He was expecting this to be some sort of robbery, but what kind of robber would bring green light to the house they were planning on emptying ?

Tightening his grip on his sword's handle, Schlatt walked to the room, doing his best to stop his arms from shaking. If he struck first, he would have the element of surprise, and would be advantaged against the robber. Or maybe there were several of them ? But that noise the ram had heard hadn't sounded like a window breaking, but rather like something falling to the ground. How would several robbers have gotten in there without breaking a window ? Wait, how would a _singular_ robber have gotten in there without breaking a window ?

His questions were left unanswered and replaced by many, many more others as soon as he had the intruder in sight.

He didn't know the man, didn't think he had ever seen him around, or maybe he just hadn't payed attention. His hair was a messy light brown, and large goggles were perched on top of it ; his coat was a colorful patchwork of different pieces of cloth, almost aggressive to the eyes, but its main color was purple, punctuated by accents of blue and yellow. There was a big brown satchel hanging on his side, and he was holding a heavy book in one hand, as well as a small, shiny pocket watch in the other, which he checked before placing it inside of his coast's breast pocket.

Schlatt barely payed attention to any of that, though, because his eyes were way too busy focusing on the other thing in the room.

There, a few feet behind the man, stood a huge, swirly... whatever the hell that was. It was emerald green, though its center shone in white, and emitted a strong light that danced around the room, making the whole situation as eerie as a horror movie. It reminded Schlatt of a portal, but it didn't make sense, didn't feel familiar. He had used portals, several times, when going to the Nether, and they had never looked anything like that. This one had a particular aura, like a vacuum cleaner ready to absorb anything that got too close to it, rather than the thin purple veil he was used to cross.

Completely petrified, he somehow managed to regain control of his body when he heard a noise, a voice other than his own.

"Uh... hello, Schlatt. Is this the twenty-second of September ?"

Schlatt blinked once, then a second time just to be sure. The nerve of this guy.

"Woah there, pretty boy. This is my house and I'm the one asking the questions here. Who the fuck are you and what in the goddamn hell are you doing inside my house ?" he yelled, pointing his sword at the stranger's chest.

"Woah- hey, hey, calm down, please !" The man's voice was shaky, his eyes revealing the panic he was doing his best to hide as he raised his hands in a gesture of forfeit. "I can explain everything, I swear, I'm not here to kill you or steal anything !"

A moment of silence passed before Schlatt groaned. "Well ? I'm fucking waiting, and my patience is running low !"

"Yes, yes, I'm- I- please just lower your sword, I dont- I can't-"

With another groan, the ram did as asked, though he kept a strong grip on the weapon's handle.

"Thank you, thank you," the stranger huffed, visibly trying to calm down and to get his breathing back to a regular rhythm.

He then traced a swirl on the cover of his book, and the green portal immediately disappeared. Huh. So he had control over that thing, which eliminated the option that he had arrived in the house by accident.

"Come on, talk before I change my mind and chase you out of here with my blade."

Schlatt had never been the best fighter anyone had ever seen, but he knew himself to be at least decent, and had no doubt that he could take down the trembling man if needed.

"I'm- Yes, I am going to, I just need to- please, can you just... confirm that we are on the twenty-second of September ? Right before the elections ? As in, they're happening in a few hours ?"

Schlatt frowned in confusion, but he still nodded. What, had this guy broken into his house to ask him about the time ?

"Ok, ok, that's... perfect," the stranger whispered, placing his free hand on his chest before raising his head to look the businessman in the eyes.

"Let me introduce myself then. Hello, I'm Karl Jacobs, I come from the future, and you're going to die."


	2. The Warning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Schlatt's impromptu visitor makes him questions his plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me : I'll try to post a chapter at least every two weeks  
> Also me : *posts chapter half a week later*  
> (Don't expect too much, that may not happen again lmao, I'm just very motivated for now)  
> But woo ! The end of Schlatt and Karl's conversation :)  
> Featuring the exact same character except I added Character tags because they're mentioned. There will be a lot more active characters in the next chapter though, don't worry about that !  
> Uh... featuring swearing and a little bit of angst because I just can't write happy things :') It will only get happier from now on though !  
> Mmh, I think that's all, so enjoy :D

"Huh. Is that all ?"

The man – Karl, apparently – stared at Schlatt in outraged silence like he had just grown a second pair of horns.

"Aren't you..." he finally said, "I don't know, surprised ? Shocked ? In denial ?"

"Why would I be ?" Schlatt shrugged, intentionally forgetting to mention that honestly, he was starting to be too tired to even care at that point. "Time travel, sure. You just came in from a weirdass green portal and asked for the time, that's textbook time traveler behavior so far. So, is that all ?"

The visitor's eyes filled with more and more confusion as Schlatt spoke.

"I... I mean... that's not how most people react when I announce what I am. I was expecting a little more... I don't know, energy ?"

"Well too bad, you got the wrong motherfucker to ask energy from. It's two in the morning, man. So what ? I'm going to die ? That's not a very good excuse for just barging into my house in the middle of the night. In fact, I'm considering kicking you out right now."

"Wait, wait, ok, that's... fair, I guess ?" Karl's voice was hesitant, clearly unprepared to deal with this sort of situation. "But I'm not done yet !"

"So what, were you just posing for dramatic effect ?" Schlatt asked, raising an eyebrow.

Karl's silence was more than telling, the man lowering his head in shame and letting his tongue out of his mouth- Jesus, that was a _long_ tongue. Definitely too long for a regular human. Was the man a frog hybrid ? Glancing at his eyes and hands, Schlatt could only assume so, given their slightly odd shape. Well, he wasn't one to discriminate against hybrids anyway, that would have been hypocritical.

"Come on, buddy, I don't have all night," Schlatt sighed.

"Oh- right, right, sorry. So, uh... as I was saying, you're going to die."

"Aren't we all ?" the ram snarked, unable to resist the need to tease the clearly destabilized man.

"Ah, maybe, but your death is going to be soon. As in... in like, three months."

Oh. Now that was a little more worrying than just dying. He still had business to finish on Earth, after all, and it wouldn't be good for his company to have him dying while away. Though who knew, maybe he would gain even more fame in death ? That did not matter, he decided as he shook himself out of his thoughts.

"Ok. And ?"

"God, please just let me take my time !"

"It's two in the goddamn morning and I have to be up at eight, go faster !"

"Fine, fine !" Karl groaned, hugging his book closer to him and taking a deep breath. "Ok. Here's what's going to happen. So as you know, today, the results of the elections are going to be announced. And you're going to win. By a very small percentage, but still win. Against everyone's expectations, you're going to become president of L'Manberg."

Good news, finally. Schlatt allowed a content smirk to form on his face, sticking the blade of his swords between his floorboards and leaning on its handle as if it was a cane. So he _was_ going to win. That was one fewer source of stress.

He did not interrupt Karl, simply nodding at him to encourage him to keep going.

"Right. Your first decree as president, however, is going to be revoking Wilbur and Tommy's citizenships. No one is going to see it coming, not even Quackity, your own business partner. They're going to be hunted out of the nation, and then you're going to nominate Tubbo as your right hand man, your Secretary of State."

What the frog was saying didn't exactly surprise him : he had thought about the idea of exiling Wilbur to get him away from the country and prevent him from getting his revenge on Schlatt for beating him, and he knew it would be impossible to send the boar away without sending Tommy, his brother, with him. He also knew why he wouldn't send Tubbo with them, even though he was their brother as well. He wasn't sure about nominating the younger ram as his right hand man, though. The kid had been through a lot already, and he knew it ; he didn't want to make him work more. Maybe it had been – or was going to be – on the spur of the moment, in the action ? He usually liked sticking to his plan, but power had its own way to sway people.

"Things are only going to go downhill from there," the frog interrupted his thoughts, reminding Schlatt that he was in fact not alone. "Wilbur and Tommy are going to find refuge in a network of underground tunnels, which they will name Pogtopia, and start planning their revenge from that point on. You, on the other hand, are going to tear down L'Manberg's walls, rename it Manberg, and burn its flag to make a new one. You're going to make it your own nation in the worst way possible, maintaining your tyrannical power over the people through fear, mistreating and ignoring your coworkers, and genuinely being an awful person."

Schlatt would have let out a "Well that's not very nice" if it hadn't been for his interlocutor's voice. The man had only been hesitant, unconfident this far, fidgeting, looking away and dancing on his feet as soon as he even laid his eyes on the ram. But now, his tone had gained an agressive edge as well as the confidence only someone who truly believed they were speaking the truth would have. He was telling the truth, or at least his truth, and that was that Schlatt had been, or would become, a tyrant.

His ears slightly dropped. Not enough for the frog to notice, thankfully.

"Then you're going to plan a huge festival. But that, too, will be nothing but a lie to cover up your cruelty. It will only be a pretense to confront Tubbo, who will have been a mole for Wilbur for about a month, and have him executed in public, in front of the whole nation."

That made Schlatt freeze, his eyes widening as his hand went to his mouth.

He was going to do _what_ ? To a kid ? His right hand man ? His own...

_What kind of madness was going to overtake him ?_

He was familiar with betrayal, and has learned to despise it and answer it with the proper punishment ; but still, executing Tubbo ? He would never do that... would he ?

"Thank god, he's going to make it out alive, but no one will ever trust you again. Not even the closest members of your cabinet. Not even Quackity. He's going to hate you, just like everyone else, and he will be right because you'll give him more and more reasons to do so !" His voice was starting to vibrate with barely contained anger. "You're going to ignore and mistreat him, until he can't bear it anymore and runs away to Pogtopia. All citizens are going to progressively leave Manberg, until there's not a single person left to fight with you except for Dream, who you're going to make a deal with. And me, because I'm a nimrod who got caught in the wrong side of the war."

His voice had become quieter, more resigned during his last sentence, but paradoxically, he clenched his fists tighter and gritted his teeth harder against each other. Those were clear signs of his remorse. He would have had to be an excellent actor to fake those, as well as all of his mimics and attitudes.

That did not even slightly comfort Schlatt.

"And then even Dream is going to betray you, and you're going to die in a van, from a heart attack caused by your abuse of alcohol and cigars, surrounded by looks full of hatred and people who wish they could have killed you themselves. A fitting ending for a bastard."

While Schlatt could understand the frog's feelings, he did not appreciate being insulted to his own face, to which he was going to react before being cut off by the other's voice.

"And you know what ? It's not even over yet. There's more. Because guess who's going to go crazy from the loneliness and the distance from his beloved nation ? Wilbur ! And guess who's going to grow desperate to have L'Manberg, no matter what ? Wilbur too ! And guess fucking who's going to blow up the whole goddam country as a way to claim it as his and no one else's ? Huh ? Can you make a guess ?"

Wilbur was going to do what now ? No. No way. Would a single exile drive him to such extents ? That wasn't the Wilbur he knew.

Then again, he didn't think he had seen the real Wilbur ever since his arrival in the nation. Maybe he would be ready to do such a thing, after fighting in a revolutionary war against a seemingly all-powerful entity ?

Was his Wilbur really gone forever, then ?

"And I wish I could say that's all that's going to happen to L'Manberg, but no ! We still have a long way to go, because Technoblade is going to decide to unleash two Withers on the remains of the country, as if it's not going to be damaged enough already at that point !" Schlatt didn't even think of asking who Technoblade was, too shocked by Karl's story. "There is going to be a moment of relative peace, though. Tubbo is going to become president, and for a brief time, things will look brighter. But you know who's going to step in ? Dream ! Because he hadn't been enough of a threat during the revolutionary war, he's going to get mad at Tommy for destroying George's house and send an ultimatum to Tubbo : either Tommy's exiled, or he declares war on L'Manberg."

Oh, that was a tough choice. Well, not for himself, really. He was smart enough to know when to pick a fight and when to bend over, and he wouldn't hesitate a single second before selling Tommy out in exchange for peace. But for Tubbo ? Damn, everyone knew how close he and Tommy were. Even the businessman did, and he had only been there for a few weeks. Tubbo was a responsible kid, but knowing how much Tommy mattered to him, asking him to choose between his brother and the nation was just cruel. Even his own exile plan was less sadistic, because he, at least, didn't place that much responsibilities on a child's shoulders.

"He's going to choose L'Manberg over Tommy."

The ram's ears perked up in surprise. Tubbo ? Choosing his nation over Tommy ? That was... unexpected, to say the least. Schlatt would have expected him to hesitate for along time and make himself sick with worry before finally choosing his brother and preparing to fight another war. But choosing to exile him ? That, the horned man would not have predicted. Perhaps the pressure of his presidency was going to affect him more than he would have thought... ?

"Yeah, I know. I think we were all surprised. But that's what's going to happen, Tubbo is going to exile Tommy for the good of his nation, and Dream is going to make sure he stays away from L'Manberg. By which I mean he's going to psychologically abuse and manipulate him until the kid runs away to Technoblade. But guess what ! In between those two events, Quackity is going to become completely paranoid and obsessed with the idea of killing Technoblade, which will result in a kidnapping, an attempt at murder, a duel that Quackity will lose, and the awakening of the rage of a man that had retired ! So when Tommy's going to join Techno's side, the man himself will have a single goal, which is destroying L'Manberg again ! And do you know who's going to help him so that ? Dream ! They're going to team up to blow the entire nation to smithereens, until there's nothing left but the bedrock bottom in the middle of a gigantic hole !"

Holy crap, that was a _lot_ of events. So much destruction... and according to the way Karl was describing the events, they were all going to happen in a very short amount of time, a matter of months... Schlatt felt a chill go through his entire body. That simply sounded horrifying.

The frog's eyes were shining with pushed back tears, but also with a hidden fire, a flame that mirrored the ones he had seen in his present as well as his own will to prevent them from ever existing. He was determined to change the past, even if he had to go through the man he thought of as an evil dictator. Schlatt could applaud such bravery.

His fire, however, weakened a little as his eyes went to the ground.

"That's where I'm from. In my present, L'Manberg is no more. You and Wilbur are dead. Dream and Technoblade reign supreme, using the fear they incite in the hearts of the people to remain all-powerful, untouchable by anyone. Said people are divided, everyone has gone their own way and created their own faction. Tubbo and Tommy have found each other, but neither of them can forget the horrors they have lived through. Tubbo still flinches whenever he sees fireworks, and Tommy regularly has nightmares of a smiling mask looking down on him and trying to suffocate him. Quackity acts like everything's fine, but he still blames himself for your presidency, and is going crazy with this need he feels to take Technoblade down once and for all. Fundy has lost his father, and found his grandfather before being almost immediately renounced by him. The former citizens of L'Manberg live trapped in the shadows of their past. Such is my world, and I need you to change it."

... Wow.

That was... quite the story. A lot to take in, too. So despair was going to overtake everyone in a matter of months, huh ? And it all began on the day of the elections ? What a joke.

Schlatt didn't know what to think. It was simply unthinkable. And his own death was merely a detail in the immensity of the incoming chaos.

His mouth was dry when he broke the silence.

"Well... that's... a pretty dark future, huh. Man..." He paused, trying to clear his mind. "But why did you come to tell me this ?"

It wasn't an actual question, of course. Both of them knew it. Schlatt had consumed way too much time-travel based media to not know about the reason behind the man's presence, or at least to not make an educated guess. He was simply stalling to get his thoughts back under control.

Karl shook his head with a sigh before staring straight into the ram's eyes.

"I'm here because I don't want this dreadful future to happen. I'm here to make the world a better place. I'm here to change the past."

Yep, there it was. The whole past-changing thing, of course. Of course the frog wouldn't have hopped back in time and told him about all the incoming events simply for the pleasure of telling tales. He was trying to modify the story, and Schlatt had a part to play in that.

"And how are you planning on changing it ?"

The traveler's eyes were gleaming with determination.

"By asking you to step down from the elections."

Schlatt blinked twice. Then a third time, just to be sure.

"Wait. Let me get this straight. You have the audacity to teleport into my house at two in the goddamn morning on the very fucking day of the elections to ask me to just... give up on them ?"

Karl's face showed an inkling of hesitance, maybe even fear, for a second, but he still nodded, though his confidence had visibly decreased a little.

"Yes ! Just- just think about it ! If you don't become president, then Wilbur keeps his position, right ? And if he does, then he doesn't go crazy and blow up L'Manberg ! He doesn't ask for Technoblade's help only to be betrayed by him in the end ! Tubbo doesn't have to become president and choose between the nation and his best friend ! Tommy isn't exiled ! And Dream and Techno don't team up to destroy L'Manberg ! Can't you understand ? Your election was the point when everything started to go south, so if it doesn't happen, then the timeline is healed and everyone's happy !"

Fuck. The ram could feel in the man's voice that he believed everything he was saying, that he was certain that Schlatt becoming president would just ruin the whole nation and that the only way to avoid that was him giving up.

He felt a sudden tightness in his chest.

"But haven't you seen Wilbur ? He's way too fucking possessive of L'Manberg, he wouldn't even have organized elections if he hadn't been pressured by the people to do so ! What makes you think he isn't going to go crazy in power just like he did when exiled ? Why would things go any differently just because I'm not the one in power ? What if he's just worse ?"

He was lying to himself, of course. Even he didn't believe that Wilbur could do a worse job than what Karl had just described. He was simply grasping at threads, at any hope that he could be a good president.

"He can't be worse," the visitor answered in a soft voice, and Schlatt's heart was pierced by a thousand needles of pain. "He went crazy because of you and the pain and loneliness you put him through. If Wilbur doesn't become president, then the cycle is just going to end up repeating itself. You aren't meant to be the president of L'Manberg. He is."

Jesus...

God fucking dammit...

Why ? Why couldn't he just win and be happy ? Why did bullshit such as fate and destiny have to get in his way ?

... Was he truly such a terrible person ?

His hand went to his head, which he pushed back, staring at the ceiling in hopes of not letting any of what he was feeling or thinking show on his face.

That was unfair. So fucking unfair.

"... But why would you come up to me to ask me that ? What makes you think I, the big bad dictator, am going to listen to your sob story and give up on power simply because you asked me to ? Huh ?" He tried to appear in power, perhaps menacing even, to regain the smug and sadistic smirk he had managed to make his poker face, to give his voice hints of amusement, without much success. "If I am that cruel, why should I care about any of what you've just told me ?"

Spreading his fingers apart, he managed to catch Karl's eyes, only to find the worst thing he could have found in there. _Pity._ God, was he truly looking weak enough that the shaking man from earlier was now pitying him ? It made anger boil in his chest. He hated being pitied, he-

"I... It may seem to be a foolish choice. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you don't care. But... but Quackity's my best friend."

Was he ? He couldn't remember the duck mentioning a Karl. Then again, they hadn't spoken much outside of business, had they ? God, he was starting to regret it. He, the man who prided himself in being a cold and pitiless businessman, was regretting having kept his relationship with his politics partner purely professional. Oh, how he had fallen...

"And," Karl continued, "he's told me about you. Many times in fact. To tell me how much you mistreated him and ignored him, and how much he was glad that you were dead, mainly. To insult you, too. A lot." Jesus, was he just trying to put salt on the wound, now ? "But... he told me some good things, too, once or twice. He told me about the person you were before the festival. About the way you had welcomed him when he had refused Wilbur's offer, about his first weeks as Manberg's vice-president, about the beginning of your reign. And... about what he had seen in you. About the hopes he had at first that you could be good, that you two could get along. He told me that he didn't think that your first attitude was a lie. He thought you were an ok person who had been corrupted by power. And even though I don't trust you, I trust him and his judgement. If he saw that in you, then I'm willing to take that risk. So please... Please. If you care about Quackity, about Wilbur, about Tubbo, about the people and the future of this nation... Please, step down. I'm begging you. You have the power to make things better."

... Fuck.

He wasn't supposed to have feelings. Well he was, but he was also and mostly supposed to look for his own profit. That was how the world worked, he had learned at a young age. People used each other, then threw the other away when they didn't have any use for them. That was business. He had no reason to act any other way.

He was going to be president. That was the reason why he had broken the fragile remains of his friendship with Wilbur. Why would he give up now, when he knew he was going to win ? Since when was he supposed to care about people rather than money and himself ? He was a businessman. He didn't have time for friendship.

... His own lies tasted bitter on his tongue.

If he did go through, he was going to die. Die before fixing everything he wanted to. And everyone else was going to be plunged into despair.

He didn't care about their despair ! He didn't care about anything other than himself !

... But Quackity's soft smile from when he had agreed to their deal wouldn't stop lingering in the back of his mind. Both Tubbo's awe-filled eyes and Wilbur's amused grin wouldn't either. God, he had spent so much time looking for the boar, and now that he had finally found him, he was going to lose him again ?

But what about his deal with Quackity ? Stepping down would mean betraying him. Would the duck even keep talking to and trusting him after that ? Wouldn't that render all of their efforts useless ?

God, he didn't want this. He didn't want to have to choose. He wished he could go back to an hour earlier, when he had known what he was going to do, instead of having to make this damn choice. Why did the traveler have to give him this burden ?

Said traveler interrupted his thoughts with a shy cough, before gesturing to his book.

"Uh... sorry to disturb you, but... it's time for me to go." His hesitant voice turned much steadier. "Remember. You can make things right. Step down, for the good of all of us."

Without waiting for Schlatt's answer, the man nodded, before tracing a swirl on the cover of his book. The flashy green portal from earlier appeared again in his back, and he turned towards it, setting his goggles in front of his eyes.

"Bye, I guess."

Then he walked into the portal, which sucked him in before slowly shrinking on itself, to finally disappear in a cloud of green sparkles.

Schlatt just stood there, still under the shock. It all felt surreal. That had to be a dream, or maybe a nightmare, right... ?

But he knew it wasn't. He knew what had just happened was real, and he knew he had to make a choice.

Sighing, he took his sword out of the floorboards and stepped back into his living room to place it in the umbrella pot where it belonged. Glancing at his table, he noticed his glass of wine from earlier, still sitting there, untouched.

He walked up to it, staring straight into the dark red liquid, and raised it to his face, then threw it all in his sink.

It had been a while since he had wasted the opportunity to get a good glass of wine before bed, but he didn't feel like drinking it anymore.

He was going to need something much stronger. A few cups of coffee.

Sleep had to wait ; he had some thinking to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, I sure wonder what he's going to choose :)


	3. The Election

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Schlatt doubts himself and has to make a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decision time !  
> Ooh boy, this chapter ended up being way longer than I first pictured it to be because I kept going on tangents about the most random of subjects :')  
> It may be the most important one for the rest of the story though !  
> Also harpy Quackity supremacy ! I have literally never seen a single fanart or fanfic of him as one, but I love the concept uwu  
> Hm... enjoy ? :) (And don't hesitate to point out my mistakes if you see some !)

Morning came way too soon for Schlatt's taste.

He had managed to get a few hours of sleep, thankfully, but he definitely hadn't gotten any further in his thoughts, and the time to make a decision was nearing.

His black suit was pristine as always ; his perfectly combed hair made his horns stand out almost menacingly, and his facial hair only added to his aura. The only visible sign of his trouble was the dark bags under his eyes, and even those were easy to hide with a little makeup.

Before walking out, he looked at himself in the mirror, checking every single detail to make sure everything was perfect before his public appearance. As satisfied as he could be with his sword of Damocles still hanging over his head, he looked himself in the eyes and drafted a smile, his trademark smug smirk, the one that had become his poker face, before sighing. Today was going to be... a day. Was it going to be good ? Or was it going to bring the downfall of a whole nation ? It all depended on him, and he had to be up to the task.

The votes had closed the evening before, and the results were supposed to be announced by Wilbur himself at ten, on the podium, in front of the whole country – which wasn't even that much compared to some places Schlatt had been to, but still was stressful. Especially considering the decision he had to make.

He was supposed to meet up with Quackity half an hour before the announcement, though, and the time for that was nearing. His face dropping back down, he checked himself one last time, then walked out of his house, flinching as the sunlight hit him in the eyes and temporarily blinded him. The weather was clear, it was the perfect day for such an important event. It didn't quite match Schlatt's mood, though.

God, he was spiraling, wasn't he ? He couldn't stop thinking about what he was going to do, or rather his indecision about what he was supposed to do. He felt ridiculous, going sick with worry over a simple choice, he who usually had an iron will and nerves of steel. He didn't hesitate, he was Schlatt, damn it !

The streets were rather empty given what was about to happen ; then again, L'Manberg was still a young and small nation. Not that many people lived there compared to other, bigger countries, which, as the potential next president, was both reassuring and slightly disappointing.

Quackity had asked the businessman to meet him near Niki’s bakery, which, luckily for them, was one of the few buildings Schlatt knew where to find. He had only arrived recently, after all. One might even question his right to claim the position of president, but then again, every citizen of L'Manberg had arrived there quite recently given the nation's age.

The walk was only a few minutes long, which was already too much since it gave the ram time to think. About his imminent decision, of course. What was he supposed to do ? If only he could have a clear answer to that question...

Well he did have a clear answer, didn't he ? Karl had given him one. Stepping down. That was the best option for everyone involved. But he still didn't want to believe it, still too caught in his own hubris.

Ugh, this was making his head hurt.

Luckily enough, that was when he caught sight of a spark of blue, that revealed itself to be a patch of color on the bottom of one of Quackity's brown wings.

Schlatt quite liked his wings, actually. They were similar to a regular duck's, sure, but he appreciated the way they shone under the sun when his business partner stretched them out.

Another thing he liked about them, though, was their position. Most bird hybrids he'd met, which weren't that many but still enough to establish a tendency, had their wings emerging out of their backs, making them look like angels fallen from the sky. Schlatt, however, though religious, had never felt much of a connection with angels. Perhaps that was why he liked Quackity's wings so much : because unlike an angel, his wings were attached to his arms, stretching on each of his sides just like a regular bird's, the only reminder of his non-fully aviary nature being the hands slightly emerging from the dark feathers. Those, coupled with his arched legs and webbed feet, gave him a look akin to that of a harpy, which the ram liked a lot more than whatever angelic creature he had ever met.

"Hey there !" he shouted loudly enough for Quackity to hear him as he put on his smirk and smug attitude.

The man jumped a little out of surprise, before turning around, a wide grin decorating his face.

"Oh, hey Schlatt ! Good day to win the election, don't you think ?"

He was wearing sunglasses, which Schlatt, although he could appreciate aesthetically, ultimately disagreed with on a personal plan. He preferred being able to see his interlocutor's eyes, especially when they were an opponent's or a business rival's ; they were, after all, the window of the soul, but also and mostly an excellent indicator of whatever their owner was thinking and feeling. He liked being able to read the panic inside of them, to call people out for avoiding his gaze when they knew they had lost, to see them looking around for some help to find only disappointment and abandonment.

Huh. Perhaps he was a little sadistic, or perhaps he was just a businessman. Nonetheless, sunglasses were not only unprofessional in a business setting, but also and mostly an obstacle between him and everything he enjoyed deciphering in his enemy's eyes. But oh well, he guessed this was neither a business environment nor an occasion to take down an opponent, so he was going to let it slide.

Apart from his glasses, though, Quackity's outfit was quite professional, which surprised the ram given what he had had the opportunity to see during his time in L'Manberg. He wasn't wearing a suit, but his white shirt, short-sleeved to let his wings free, and navy blue tie fulfilled the same goal, especially with his black vest, pants and shoes, which, although resembling a butler's outfit, still looked way more professional than the sweater he usually wore. He still had his dark grey beanie, though, but Schlatt doubted he would ever be able to make him take it off. He probably even slept with it.

"Sure is," he finally answered the duck with a small nod. "I hope you're ready to crush them ?"

"Oh, you bet I am !" The man's face was painted in determination and glee. "Wilbur is finally going to get what's coming for him ! I've been waiting for this day ever since he rejected me from L'Manberg in the beginning !"

"He did ?" Schlatt asked, his ears perking up in surprise. "You didn't tell me about that part."

"Oh, yeah, right when I arrived here. Told me I wasn't british enough or some bullshit. I mean, it was more of a joke than anything, since he did end up letting me in, but man, it was scary at first."

"So that's... your reason for competing against him ?"

"Part of it, at least," Quackity shrugged. "I didn't lie to you either, I do think that he's too unstable for the job, but if I can hit two birds with one stone and get my revenge, then hey. Why not ?"

That was kind of childish and Schlatt usually tried to not let his personal feelings get involved with business, but well. He couldn't blame his ally for his reasons, as long as they shared the same goal. If they did still share the same goal after all the information Schlatt had been given.

"Why not indeed, buddy !" he exclaimed to get those thoughts out of his mind before slapping his hand on the man's shoulder in a friendly way.

... Huh. Wasn't there someone missing in the equation ?

"Wait, where's George ? Shouldn't he be here too ? You know, as your ex-political partner and all that shit ?"

"Oh, George ? I... haven't really had the opportunity to see him after we made our little deal, so I didn't tell him to come here. He will be at the election, though. I hope so, at least. I would be pretty upset if he just didn't show up, like he did for the debates," he awkwardly laughed, though Schlatt could easily hear the hints of frustration in his voice.

"He does know about our deal, right ?"

The short silence before Quackity's "Of course !" did nothing to reassure him, but he decided to let that slide too. He had to trust his vice-president ; ignoring and doubting him had been what had caused his downfall in the first place, right ?

Ugh, he was talking as if he was going to be president again, and yet he still didn't know what he was going to do. He didn't have the strength necessary to tell the duck he was going to give up, not after the conversation they had just had. So what ? Was he going to go through with it and take the risk to go down the same path as he had in Karl's future ? Could he really bear that responsibility ?

That was why he liked having a clear, defined plan ! He was talented at improvisation, but it stressed him out so much ; knowing what he was going to do in advance removed that stress of hesitating until the very last second. If only the time traveler had come to him at an earlier date than the very day of the election !

"Oh, we should probably get going." Quackity's words interrupted Schlatt's internal turmoil, and he nodded.

They walked together to the stage for a few minutes. The uncomfortable silence left Schlatt a lot of space to think, space he did not, however want. He tried to focus on the sound of their steps to keep his mind off the whole incoming potential damnation thing, but it only succeeded in making him more uneasy when he noticed that the noise produced by his hooves hitting the wooden path was slightly different from the one coming from the duck's webbed feet.

Thankfully enough, it didn't take long for them to catch sight of the building, as well as two groups of people, standing in front of it.

The first group was composed of two people. One was Fundy, who was standing next to the wooden stairs, his fiery ears slipping out of his revolutionary hat. His hair was attached in a ponytail behind his head, and he had most likely shaved on that very morning, given the state of his beard. He was also wearing a black and white suit, completed by a red tie, matching with his companion, Niki’s, outfit. She, too, wore her revolutionary hat as well as a suit, which, although unusual, didn't look awful, and made her long blonde hair contrast with the dark tones of her outfit.

Both of them flinched when they saw Schlatt arriving, but the fox was the only one of the two to nod at him with some kind of respect, his partner quickly looking away as she stepped behind him in a defensive gesture. The ram simply smirked at them, before turning towards the other group, perhaps the most important of the two.

There stood Wilbur, of course, Wilbur and his two sidekicks.

The boar was, surprisingly, wearing his revolutionary soldier uniform as well. What, did he not have a suit to put on ? Or did he simply not want to wear one ? Perhaps he was trying to appeal to his people's nostalgia by sporting the outfit they had known him to wear when he was leading them during the war. His brown, fur-covered ears twitched at the sight of his rival, yet a smile still formed on his lips as he amicably waved at the two newcomers.

"Hey there Schlatt ! Hi Quackity !" The look in his eyes turned more challenging. "Ready to lose ?"

"Ha ! You wish !" the duck shouted back, the same defying glint in his own eyes.

Schlatt's smirk simply grew wider ; he felt, however, none of the smugness he was attempting to show. Only growing panic. He did not like it.

_You're going to exile him._

His gaze fell on the two boys on each of Wilbur's sides. On his left, of course, the infamous Tommy, known as a troublemaker throughout the nation, and potential vice president of the Pog2020 party. His reputation fit surprisingly well his appearance, especially the two round grey ears sprouting from the top of his head and the long, black-striped tail furiously swishing around behind his back. The raccoon, too, wore his revolutionary clothing, which at this point made Schlatt question whether he should have gotten one himself, since that seemed to be the common theme of the morning.

_You're going to exile him too._

Especially when he noticed that it was also worn by the second teenager, standing on Wilbur's right. Tubbo. Schlatt hadn't had much contact with him so far, but he was unable to ignore the warm feeling that took over him each time the boy was around. A herd feeling. It had been so long since he had been around another sheep hybrid – over a dozen years, really – that he had nearly forgotten how that felt. But now he had the lamb around, and though they didn't meet that often, he always appreciated being in his presence, and he knew that the boy, however intimidated he might have been, could feel that too. Nonetheless, for now, he was still only a stranger, and above all someone who his brother – though adoptive – had thought he could trust before he turned around. Not someone he would rely on a lot, then. That was ok, that would change. It would. Right ?

_You're going to have him executed in public._

Schlatt violently shook his head, making everyone around him jump in surprise, before flashing his signature sneer at the group standing in front of him as he cracked his neck.

"Well, gentlemen, the clock is ticking and the time for the results is nearing. I wish you all good luck, and may the best of us win."

Then he walked away, ruffling Tubbo's hair a little as he passed by him and feeling the nubs of his horns under his palms. None of the people had time to react to what had just happen, not in front of him at least, but he did hear Tommy's loud "What the fuck was that ?" from a few meters away, which made him snigger.

"Yeah, what the fuck _was_ that ?" Quackity asked in an upset voice, sprinting a little to get his spot by the ram's side back.

The businessman simply shrugged. Even he didn't quite know what had pushed him to act like he just had. A mere instinct, maybe ? Or perhaps rather his knowledge of the future ? Eh, did it matter ?

... Well it did, because that was going to affect his cold, competitive businessman image. The persona he had so carefully crafted would probably have sent the others a "Suck it up, losers, victory's ours !", which was far from whatever politeness had just come out of his mouth. Guess he had to roll with it now, which still didn't please him, but oh well.

"We've already won anyways," he told the duck, who was unaware that the confidence in his voice was more than his own ego.

A sudden whimper caught his attention, making his ears twitch, and he slightly turned his head towards the source of the noise to try and determine what had caused it without getting too much attention.

It had come from Fundy ; the fox was staring at the ground, his ears flattened against his skull in sadness as he held his arms around him.

"I don't know if I can do this, Niki," he whined, his voice barely above a whisper, so quiet that Schlatt was barely able to hear it, and only thanks to his heightened hearing. "I mean, look at them... They all have the influence and the power required to be presidents. Who am I ? I'm just a nobody who entered the competition to prove something to his dad... And I don't even know what ! I knew it, this was a terrible idea, maybe it's not too late to step down from-"

"Don't you dare say that !" Niki interrupted him. Despite her naturally soft voice, she sounded more upset than Schlatt thought he'd ever heard her. "We've fought for this and we've got this far. We're not giving up now. Maybe Wilbur, Quackity or Schlatt have more chances of winning this, but you know what ? We're not going to let that drag us down ! Ok ? So don't you dare wallow in self-pity now, because else you're going to regret it later. Let's face whatever's going to come head on, together, because I trust you and you need to trust yourself too ! Ok ?"

Visibly shocked by his friend's tone, Fundy stayed still for a few seconds before nodding, though he evidently wasn't quite confident yet. But Niki seemed satisfied by his answer, and grabbed him by the arm to pull him into a long hug.

In doing so, however, she noticed Schlatt staring at them from afar ; their eyes locked for a few seconds before she quickly looked away, and stepped away from her partner's embrace. That left the businessman two choices, awkwardly leaving the place or walking up to them, and who was he, if not a showman.

"That was a nice speech," he stated with a smile, startling Fundy who immediately got defensive.

"What do you want, Schlatt ?" the fox snarled.

Niki didn't say anything, but her frowned eyebrows were enough to transmit a similar message.

"Nothing bad ! Jesus, why are you all so uptight today. I just wanted to say..." Was he doing the right thing ? "Good luck. For, y'know. The elections. You two fought well."

And then he once again turned around and walked away, leaving the two members of Coconut2020 stunned in his trail.

"Ok, what the actual hell is up with you," Quackity groaned as the ram reached his side.

"Hey, you came to me for my help, you agreed with my methods, it's a little too late to question them now, buddy," Schlatt barked back, instantly regretting the loudness of his voice when he saw the other man flinch.

Karl's words instantly came back to his mind. "You're going to ignore and mistreat him." Had that already started ? Had he already subconsciously made his decision ? Was he already going down the same path as the dictator he was going to be ?

The two stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds in awkward silence before the ram broke it with a heavy sigh.

"Sorry. I... had a rough night. I just thought improving our relationship with the other parties might not be that bad of an idea. I understand your surprise, and you have every right to disagree."

The words had a strange taste on Schlatt's tongue, he wasn't used to apologizing ; and yet, it felt somewhat... freeing.

Quackity kept staring at him for a moment, stunned, his mouth continuously opening and closing like a fish's, but quickly managed to get control over his body back and let out a small laugh.

"Wow... that was, uh... unexpected. I mean, I didn't think you would ever say sorry. Not that I'm complaining ! It's cool ! I like the whole being nicer thing ! It's just that I was expecting you to, I don't know, mock them or something ? It just doesn't seem like you..." He paused, looking his partner up and down before smiling. "But I might like this you better. Hey, while we're here, what if _I_ was the president ?"

"Don't push your luck, Fatty Patty." Despite his words, there was no animosity inside of the ram's voice ; only the amusement he was feeling. He liked that dynamic he had with the duck. The dynamic he probably had had with him in Karl's future before he turned authoritarian. Would that be ruined if he became the president ? But would Quackity keep talking to him if he dropped everything ? Perhaps he _could_ let him be president, then ? But he didn't want that, did he ?

Then again, what _did_ he want ?

Schlatt's spiraling was interrupted when a movement on his side caught his eyes, making him step back to dodge the person that would have run into him otherwise.

"Ah- shit, sorry," said person gasped out between two deep breaths, visibly not used to making such effort, before raising his head at Quackity. "I'm not late, am I ?"

"Barely on time, George," the duck groaned as he elbowed his friend's arm.

Ah, right, finally. George. The man who had failed to show up on the day of the debate, forcing Quackity to ally with Schlatt to have a chance of winning. The ram should probably have been grateful to him, to be fair, but he could help but feel some sort of disdain at the sight of the man. Maybe he had been affected by his partner's resentment towards the person who had abandoned him in his time of need, who knew.

Dear old Gogy even had the audacity to show up in his regular, basic outfit. No suit, no outfit, nothing but his blue shirt, jeans and large white goggles. Did he even care about this election ? About winning it ?

Truly, Schlatt's antipathy towards him was fully justified. And he wasn't even the only one to dislike him : most of L'Manberg still resented him for being Dream's best friend and fighting on his side, against them, during the revolutionary war. No one had forgotten, which had been the reason why Quackity choosing him as vice president had been so controversial. Not that it mattered now.

"Everyone, please gather in front of the podium !"

Wilbur's voice rang through the air, making everyone turn towards him, and sure enough, he was standing on the stage, looking around at the city like he ruled it – which he did, for the next ten minutes at least.

Schlatt started walking to the podium, Quackity on his trail, which earned them both a confused look from George who followed them anyway. The businessman noted Tubbo's absence, though he was most likely in the audience, as he wasn't an official member of Pog2020, but rather a support. Silently, they all took their spot behind their respective desks, labelled with the name of their parties. The ram and the duck exchanged a knowing look before splitting. They knew when they would intervene.

"Hello, people of L'Manberg," Wilbur started, a large smile decorating his face as he spread his arms apart in a welcoming gesture, "and welcome to the biggest event of our nation so far. Today will decide the future of the country we love oh so dearly ; you, citizens, have listened to the politicians gathered on this stage today, and chosen who was fit to rule this entire nation. Today, we unveil the results of your votes. This is a memorable day, for us as well as future generations, and it will be remembered for centuries by our descendants. I, as the acting president of L'Manberg, am going to announce the results, but please rest assured that the votes have been counted by a completely neutral third party, and as such there has been no way for me to manipulate them. Whoever the winner is, we will bow to them and move on together."

Yeah, that was crap and everyone could see it. They all knew that the person most likely to react badly in case of a defeat was Wilbur himself ; but everyone kept quiet out of respect for the man.

"Without further ado, I am going to disclose the election results."

As he spoke, the boar took a small, white envelope out of the pocket of his coat, showcasing it to the whole audience before carefully opening it. Everyone stared at him, anticipating what would come next ; eventually, he broke the silence again.

"With nine percents of the votes, in fourth place," he paused, drafting a small smile, "is Coconut2020."

Both of the party's members looked visibly disappointed at that. Fundy's ears drooped and Niki’s smile turned sour. Both of them exchanged a look that had "at least we tried" written all over it, before hugging each other with one arm.

The sound of someone loudly clapping echoed through the place out of the blue. Everyone was startled by the noise, before turning towards Schlatt who looked back at them, a smug smile crossing his face, and kept applauding.

"Come on, everyone !" he shouted loudly enough to be heard by the audience. "They fought well, congrats !"

Slowly, hesitantly, the members of the public started applauding as well, until everyone had picked it up, some people occasionally cheering for their party. Fundy and Niki stood still, looking at them with stupefaction, seemingly unable to believe what was happening. Eventually, both of them turned towards Schlatt, and though they didn't say anything, he saw in their teary eyes and their relieved smiles how grateful they felt.

He didn't even know why he had intervened, but oh well. He would be lying if he said that it didn't feel even slightly nice.

"Everyone, please ! That was a very touching moment, but could we go back to the matter at hand ?" Of course, Wilbur had to ruin the moment. He was right, though, they did have to move on.

"Now, with sixteen percents of the votes, coming in third position... is Schlatt2020."

Ah, right. That was to be expected. He _was_ an outsider, after all, he had known that people would not immediately trust him over someone they knew and respected. At least he wasn't last.

That was what he would have thought if he hadn't known about both his deal with Quackity and the results of said deal. He had to fake disappointment, though, so he looked down at the wooden planks, trying to make his smile appear a little tainted, or at least not as smug as earlier.

His ears, however, perked up at the sound of people clapping. Multiple people, too ; he had expected it from Quackity, given their alliance and the support they had to give each other, but he was surprised to notice that Fundy and Niki were applauding him as well, both showing the same comforting, supportive smile, though seeing the small look of surprise they had shared, they didn't seem to have planned that together. Once again, the audience slowly joined them until all were clapping together.

For the first time since the beginning of Wilbur's speech, Schlatt's smile was a genuine one.

Which didn't suppress his urge to knock the smirk off of the boar's face when he added "Now that's a surprise," his tone as smug as it could be.

"Now, that only leaves the two frontrunners. Pog2020, and Swag2020. And here are the final results of the election. With thirty percents of the votes, in second position..."

The bastard paused once again, taking his time to look around, at his opponents, at the audience, at his running mate, before a large grin appeared on his face. George grabbed Quackity's shoulder, both of their distresses largely apparent despite the glasses covering their faces.

"... Is Swag2020, led by Quackity."

Everyone let out the collective breath they had been holding, silence reigning for a few seconds before being broken by a loud cry of joy coming from Tommy, his tail violently wagging as he jumped around out of excitement. The applauds erupted from everywhere, people cheering and whooping until they were out of air, making such a spectacular racket that Schlatt had to slap his hands over his sensitive ears.

"Which means," Wilbur yelled loudly enough to be heard despite the noise, "that the winning party is Pog2020, with forty-five percents of the votes, allowing me to stay president and placing Tommy as my vice president !"

The crowd's hubbub somehow turned even louder, turning into pure chaos as the president laughed gleefully, his arms spread as if welcoming the cheers of his nation.

Schlatt and Quackity exchanged a look.

Both smiled.

Quackity's smile was a remark, an exclamation as he noticed the most important part of the speech ; Schlatt's was a confirmation, not only of the duck's observation, but also of what he already knew.

They'd won.

It took a few dozens seconds for the crowd to calm down and the noise to quieten, though without dying out, people keeping talking between each other. Schlatt thought he had seen Tubbo's ecstatic face in the public, but that might have just been a figment of his imagination.

Wilbur cleared his throat, driving the attention back to himself. Silence fell upon the audience.

"People of L'Manberg, thank you. Thank you for fighting this war with me months ago, and thank you for choosing me as your leader again today. I simply cannot express how much that matters to me. Thank you. Thank you so much. It is an honor to be able to lead you once again, and I can only hope for-"

The boar immediately stopped himself when he heard the sound of steps against the wooden floor. Frowning, he turned to the source of the noise, only to find Schlatt, walking towards him, not even attempting to hide his huge, victorious smirk.

"Schlatt, what are you doing ?" he whispered furiously, glancing at the crowd beneath them.

"Relax, man. I simply have an announcement to make. May I ?" the man answered in the same tone before reaching for the microphone.

Wilbur would immediately have refused the man's request if it hadn't been for the feeling of a hand laid on his shoulders and feathers lying against his back.

"Quackity ?" he asked as he turned towards the duck. "What is this ?"

"Just give him the mic, man," the other replied with his own smirk.

The boar was surrounded, and even though he knew that the audience wouldn't let the two men hurt him without barging onto the stage and defending him, he also knew that they were growing curious about what was happening and would ask for an explanation if he didn't provide them with one.

"Fine," he groaned, "but you better not be scheming something bad."

"Can't promise anything !"

Schlatt's smirk grew wider as the requested item was placed into his hand, Wilbur stepping back, but close enough to intervene in case of necessity. He positioned himself in front of the public, and looked at them with all the power he already had.

"People of L'Manberg, hello. You may be wondering why I have interrupted our oh so dear president's speech, and why I am now monopolizing the mic. The answer is very simple : what he was saying was inaccurate. As a man of the people, I felt obligated to correct him."

He paused, letting said people enough time to get over the initial shock and anger of being interrupted, and move on to their curiosity as to what he was talking about.

"Wilbur has claimed that his party has earned forty-five percents of the votes and therefore has won this election. However, although the first part of this declaration is indeed the truth, the second one happens to be false. See, I had a visit a few days ago, while I was alone at home. A certain mister Quackity."

Schlatt's back was facing Wilbur, but he could easily guess the look of horror growing on the man's face as he kept talking.

"And mister Quackity here offered me a deal. He offered me to join forces, to pool our votes together. And guess what ? I accepted that offer. Which means that in this situation, rather than Pog2020's forty-five percents win against Schlatt2020's sixteen percents and Swag2020's thirty percents, it appears that what we are witnessing is the fight between Pog2020's forty-five percents and Schwag2020's forty-six percents. I don't think you need a mathematician to understand the situation, right ?"

They had won. By a single percent, but they had won, and the realization started dawning on the audience's face.

"Wait," Tommy yelled as he snatched the microphone away from Schlatt's hands, "you can't just do that ! That's fraud ! You can go to jail for that !"

But the dread on his face only got stronger as he heard Schlatt's delighted chuckle.

"Oh, you poor sweet summer child. So I assume he didn't tell you, huh ?"

The incomprehension that flashed on the raccoon's face was enough for Schlatt to get his tool back.

"That may indeed have been considered voter's fraud at some point in the past. However, did I mention the circumstances that led to Quackity's decision of coming to me ? Did I mention that he had been approached by Wilbur first, to make a deal similar to mine, which he had refused ? Now, if what we've done is a crime, wouldn't your president be considered a criminal as well ?"

A collective gasp came from the audience as well as the other people present on the stage. Tommy stared at Wilbur with the look of a person who didn't want to believe that they had been betrayed, but the boar simply avoided his gaze, pulling his hat over his eyes in shame.

"Wilbur... is that true ?"

The voice, surprisingly, wasn't Tommy's, but Niki’s ; the woman had stepped in front of Wilbur, who, now that Schlatt remembered, was her friend, looking for a sign of denial. But her voice seemed to shake the boar out of his shock, making him raise his head and look at her, though not in the eyes.

"... Yes. It is."

Niki’s hands immediately went to her mouth to cover her gasp, and she was quickly joined by Fundy who pressed himself against her side, frowning at his father. The man in question sighed before walking to the front of the stage and reaching for the microphone.

"I apologize, people of L'Manberg. What you have just heard is true. I did attempt to make a deal with Swag2020 to secure my victory. I am sorry for that. And, just like Schlatt has claimed..."

He paused, visibly reluctant to finish his sentence.

"It seems that Schwag2020 has indeed won these elections, making Schlatt the new president of L'Manberg, with Quackity as his vice president."

It didn't take long for the crowd to go from perfect silence to outraged yells. The people were angry, the people felt betrayed and the people wanted justice.

Schlatt suddenly felt all the weight of the future come back to his shoulders.

He had managed to get his mind off of it as he had listened and claimed his rightful place, but now that he was standing there, in front of the nation, he didn't feel so good anymore.

The people were angry at their ex-president. Now would be the perfect time to exile him, and Tommy as well, right ?

But wouldn't that be falling back into the other Schlatt's role ? The one he and Karl wanted to keep him from becoming ? What, then, should he simply not do that ? Let the people make justice themselves ?

It was too late to step down from the election, too late to give up. He had missed his window of opportunity. Stepping down now, after exposing Wilbur and claiming his rightful belonging at the head of the nation, would seem hypocritical, not to mention everyone would hate him for it, allies and enemies alike.

So what was he supposed to do ?

Wait for the cries to stop, first, he decided as he stared at the audience that progressively calmed down, in need for accountability from their new president.

"Well," said president huffed, "that was pretty easy."

An outraged whisper crossed the crowd, but that wasn't enough to spark as much chaos as what had just been revealed.

"People of L'Manberg, hello again. Now, I speak as Schlatt, not only a presidential candidate, but your new president himself. I have to say, I may not have won this the traditional way, but I am honored to be part of this nation. I assure you, a lot is going to change around here."

He was saying meaningless sentences to gain time, but he couldn't keep just rambling forever, he needed to make a choice, to know what to do, and he needed it now.

"I know some of you may not appreciate me. I know most of you didn't vote for me and are now upset to see me, standing upon this crowd, in a position of power that you wanted another man to have. I understand. I did manage to do this thanks to a deal, but also thanks to Quackity, who was the one to offer me said deal. In that sense, I owe him a lot."

That was the perfect opportunity to desist and to appoint Quackity as president, wasn't it ? It would be right. He would avoid all the trouble Karl had warned him against. That was the most rational option.

Yet the words refused to come out.

"I can understand your anger, whether it is directed at me or at Wilbur, for attempting to do what I did first. I must thank him though, for this opportunity, and congratulate him for his almost-victory. Now that I think of it, I also have to congratulate mister Fundy and miss Niki for their remarkable attempt. Truly, no matter who ended up president, L'Manberg would have had a trustworthy government."

What was he even saying ? Why was he talking about the other candidates ? He wasn't even making any sense !

...

Unless...

"Yes, everyone who competed in this election did an outstanding job, such an amazing work that I can't help but want to reward them."

Oh, that was a bad idea. He was going to regret this. He was definitely going to.

... But was it ?

Now that he thought of it, it didn't seem that bad.

Perhaps he would even dare say that it was a good one.

The clock was ticking, he had been silent for too long, it was time to make a decision.

Now or never.

"Yes, you heard me ! I would like to reward my rivals ! And as such, my first decision as L'Manberg's president, as the leader of this great country..."

The silent was complete and almost oppressing. The people were staring at him, waiting for his words, the words that would determine whether the future of the nation was saved or doomed.

All or nothing.

"Is to formally invite each of my opponents in this election to become part of my government !"

It only took a second for all hell to break loose.


	4. The Government

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Schlatt’s decision creates debate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there !  
> Lots of talking here, we discover the early consequences of Schlatt's actions, and canon is not much of a concern anymore :)  
> Writing Schlatt here is like walking on a very fine line between "those are different circumstances so of course he acts a little differently" and "this feels out of character", but hey, that's the challenge of writing isn't it ?  
> God, I keep thinking "hm, my notes for this chapter are only seven lines long, I hope it won't be too short" then writing 6k words chapter-  
> But hey, thank you all so much for the positive feedback on the first three chapters ! I hope you'll like this one too, as well as what's to come :)

Schlatt's ears hurt from all the screaming and shouting happening around him. He couldn't even distinguish the voices overlapping, wincing despite the poker face he was trying to keep on.

Someone grabbed his shoulder. He glanced at them, only to be met with Quackity's face, anger and confusion dancing in his eyes. Behind him, Fundy and Niki displayed similar expressions, and he had no doubt Wilbur, Tommy and George were just as riled up, though he couldn't see them.

"What the hell ?" the duck whispered furiously, his voice almost covered by the roar of the crowd.

"Wait a second," Schlatt whispered back before turning to the audience again.

"That will be all for today, folks ! Thank you all for coming, and have a nice day."

And with that he walked off the stage, leaving the public so stunned by his audacity that they took a few seconds to even process what had just happened. When they did, however, the noise only got louder, forcing the ram to press his hands on his ears to try and reduce the pain.

"Ok, no, we're not doing this, what the hell was _that_ ?" Wilbur's voice came to him despite his hands, making him turn around to smile at the distressed boar, though he kept walking backwards.

"You heard me, didn't you ? I'm inviting you all to be part of my government. It's as simple as that."

"No, no, no, you- you little- Why ? Why would you even- ugh !"

The man's groans of frustration only deepened Schlatt's smile, which he was thankful for since it allowed him to hide the panic growing inside of his chest.

Yeah, what the hell had that been ? Even he didn't know ! He certainly hadn't planned it, the idea hadn't even crossed his mind during his reflection the night before, or even before he had stepped on the stage. If anyone had told him he would have done it an hour before, he would have laughed at them. That was both unthinkable and unheard of. A president building his administration with their enemies ? Why would anyone do that, huh ? That was pure nonsense !

And yet there he was. It was official, there was no backing down. He had announced it in front of the whole nation, he couldn't just go back on his words and simply cancel what he had said. He had to go through with... whatever this plan was. If it could even be called a plan, given how much of it had been made up on the spot, and how much was left to be made up. How was he going to get himself out of this ? He had absolutely no idea.

"Calm down, buddy," he answered, ignoring all the turmoil swirling around his mind. "You're getting awfully worked up for something that benefits you."

Wilbur opened his mouth but the words didn't come to it, making him stop in his tracks, opening and closing his lips like a goldfish, his irritation growing at each sound that didn't come out of them. He didn't have to say anything, however, because someone else did it in his place.

"That's not an explanation, Schlatt, and I want one !" Ah, Quackity's turn. The duck's feather were all ruffled up from the indignation he was feeling. "What do you think you're doing ? Didn't you, I don't know, consider telling me about your plans ? You know, your political partner ? The person who allowed you to win ?"

Somehow, the president could feel that "Oh, I came up with that on the spot" wasn't the right answer to give to the angry man. Oh, how he was glad that all his years of manipulation had everyone around him completely fooled as to his intentions and plans. Maybe that was the wrong time to be happy about it, but oh well. Could he be blamed for being a little happy with himself in the middle of such a commotion ?

"Calm down, Quackity, I'm going to explain everything once we arrive. Do you really want to have that conversation here, on the side of the road ?"

The man's face expressed an outraged yes, but he kept quiet, though Schlatt knew he was going to get an earful as soon as they made it to their destination.

Fundy, Niki, George and Tommy followed them as well, but all of them were silent. Even Tommy, which was incredibly uncharacteristic of him, but could probably be explained by all the rollercoaster of emotions he had just gone through – the euphoria of his victory, the despair of his failure, the betrayal of Wilbur's actions, and whatever had gone through his head after Schlatt's announcement. Oh, he was probably going to be disappointed soon, but it would all come in due time. For now, they just kept walking, though probably a little confused as to where the ram was taking them.

Their confusion was short-lived, however, since they caught sight, after an awkward twenty minutes of silence, of the White House's familiar stone walls. Schlatt didn't like the place very much – what kind of idiot would call a grey building "White" House ? – but it would do, at least for now. Pushing the creaky wooden doors, he invited his guests in with a nod, before stepping into the place himself.

Yeah, he definitely didn't like it. Too bland, too monotone for his taste. The dark walls did nothing to enlighten the atmosphere created by the lack of windows, and though the torches hanging and there gave a medieval sort of look to the place, that had never been Schlatt's thing. He strived for modernity, not a return to the Middle Ages.

"Ok, so now that we're here, care to explain why you did whatever that was and why you didn't notify anyone of what you were planning on doing in advance ?"

Wilbur had spoken first, saying out loud what people didn't dare to, as usual. Quackity shot him a killer look but didn't say anything, disagreeing with the person but agreeing with the message.

"Oh, it's simple, really. See, I have to recruit people to be members of my administration, and I figured everyone here was at least a tiny bit interested in politics, since you all ran for the election. It's a win-win situation, don't you think ? I have a cabinet and you have a tiny bit of power. Everyone's happy ! Woo !"

He spread his arms apart in a mockery of a celebration, but no one else followed him, rendering his attempt at lifting the mood useless. Everyone just kept staring at him in silence and he was growing uneasy.

"What ? Do you need any other explanation ? I've told you everything."

"Why didn't you ask me before doing it, asshole ?" Quackity shouted, spreading a wing around the room. "We're partners in business, you're supposed to tell me those things !"

"I know, I hear you, I just didn't know how you were going to take it !"

"Oh, yeah, because learning it on the spot makes it so much easier to accept !"

"Oh, come on..."

Except Schlatt didn't finish his sentence, because the anger in Quackity's eyes stroke him right in the heart.

He was doing exactly what Karl had told him he would do.

He had taken a decision without asking his vice president, had decided to keep the power without taking his associate's opinion into account.

Was he turning into a tyrant already ?

Was there truly no way out of this fate ?

"... I'm sorry."

The duck froze right in the middle of the sentence he was preparing, blinking twice before looking the ram up and down.

"You're what now ?"

"I'm sorry. I should have told you about that. I was too worried about your potential reaction to see that I was only making it worse by forcing you to accept it. You're right, we're partners. I should listen to you."

That wasn't the whole truth, but that was close enough to be believable, and it probably would have been his opinion had he thought of that plan the day before.

The silence became even more oppressing. The president didn't even think it was possible and yet there he was, feeling the disbelieving stares of all the people surrounding him digging into his back and arms while Quackity blinked some times more.

Schlatt hated apologizing, he did. Mostly because he was usually right, but also because of the atmosphere it always created. Public apologies were the worst, and he wanted nothing more than to walk out of the crappy building and go home. But it was needed.

"Uh... wow. Are you sure everything is alright ? Did someone hit you on the head recently ? You've been way too sorry today. Who are you and what have you done to the real Schlatt ?"

The businessman huffed in amusement, which, sadly, wasn't enough to defuse the tension.

"But uh... ok ? It's... fine, I guess. As long as you don't do that again."

"I won't."

At least he hoped he wouldn't.

"Oi, are we done with the soap opera ? Can we return to the actual discussion ? Or do we have to watch you two whine for longer ?"

Ah, of course, Tommy's irritating voice had to come through to interrupt their heartfelt moment. The boy had taken a step forward, crossing his arms in front of his chest in a defiant gesture as he looked Schlatt up and down.

"We're getting to it, kid, be patient."

Said kid growled at the name but didn't say another word.

"Schlatt." Wilbur looked him in the eyes, his face deadly serious. "What are your intentions ? What do you get out of this ?"

"Jesus, Wilbur, won't you give me a little faith ? I've told you already. I need a government and you guys are good choices."

"But why ? We're your enemies ! You were so against me winning that you refused to endorse me and created your own party !"

"Listen, there are no allies and enemies in business. Only competent people on different sides. We fought for the presidency, but that doesn't mean I don't respect your expertise," Schlatt shrugged. "You're the only one here with some kind of experience with being the president. That's valuable, you know ? I can't let you go waste your much needed talent."

God, could these people stop standing agape every time he talked ? Was what he was saying that surprising ?

... Yeah, maybe it was. He had, after all, mostly been talking his opponents down, because he had been fighting and convinced that that had been the way to go. But now he was just trying to make them understand without telling them about his visitor from earlier and the way what he had been told had opened his eyes, which was harder than expected. And he did think what he was saying was true. Even in bad faith, he couldn't deny Wilbur's political skills.

"But why would you do that if what you're looking for is power ?"

"I'm just trying to do what's best for the people !" And to get as much power as he could without dooming everyone, that much was true. He couldn't exactly deny it.

"Are you kidding me ? You said democracy sucked !"

"What I meant is that democracy as a system is flawed because it gives power to the majority without caring about the people themselves, which can easily fall into extremes and oppression of minorities. Did you people not listen to a single geopolitics lesson ?"

The boar's look turned into consternation. "Now you're just pulling my leg."

"Am I ?" Schlatt smirked, and for a moment Wilbur smirked back and it felt like they had fallen back into their old bickering despite all the years and events that had gone down since.

"Ok, stop, both of you." Fundy stepped between them, breaking the fragile link they had managed to establish, and turned towards the ram, his ears lowered in what looked like apprehensive shame. "Listen, I... don't know why you're doing this. I don't know if you have an ulterior motive or anything. But... thank you. For what you did earlier on the stage and for this. I appreciate it. And uh, I accept your offer, of course."

Schlatt tilted his head in surprise, before his smile returned to his face, though it wasn't as smug as it had been a few seconds ago.

"No problem pal. Welcome to the team."

He accompanied his words with a pat on the fox's shoulders, who was startled by the action, but quickly drafted a small smile back.

"Um, sorry to interrupt..."

Both men's ears flicked towards the source of the fragile voice, which happened to be Niki, who was fidgeting, her eyes digging into the ground as she seemed to struggle with keeping talking.

"Yes ?" Schlatt asked, as gently as he could without seeming too soft, though at this point his image had probably been affected forever.

The woman flinched, but swallowed her saliva and quickly nodded.

"Yes, um... I really don't want to bother you, or make you think I don't appreciate your offer, or anything, it's just- I..."

Their eyes met as she raised her head a little and she flinched again.

"Please, go on."

The businessman was trying to be reassuring, which wasn't quite something he was experienced with. He hadn't had to deal with things such as family and friends in years now, except for his business partners, who he usually didn't have to comfort or calm down.

That did seem to help Niki a little, however, since she looked the ram straight in the eyes, something akin to determination shining in hers.

"I'm really grateful for the opportunity, but... I don't think I will accept it." Her voice was shaky, but she didn't hesitate. "I mean... I mostly entered the election to help out Fundy. I'm not really interested in politics, and I have a bakery to run... I'm happy with just being a baker, I don't think being part of your government would suit me."

All the gazes went straight to Schlatt, undoubtedly waiting for or afraid of his reaction and what he would do to the woman who dared refuse his offer ; he, however, simply nodded and offered her a small smile before patting her shoulder.

"Ok. That's fine, I can't force you to work with me. Good luck with your future. I'll make sure to stop by the bakery sometimes."

Most of the fear in Niki’s eyes faded away, leaving her relieved and smiling. She seemed to hesitate for a few seconds but ultimately stepped back, before turning to Fundy, who was looking at her with apprehension.

"I'm really sorry, I know you were counting on me, but... I don't think I can do this. This was a great experience, though !"

"No, no," the fox exclaimed, putting his hands in front of him, "I'm the sorry one here ! I should have realized that you didn't actually want to be involved in politics, instead of just dragging you in against your will. But thank you for helping me out during all this time."

"Oh, come on, you have nothing to apologize for !"

"And neither do you !"

Both of them chuckled before launching themselves into each other's arms, gleeful laughter escaping both of their mouths as they spun around in joy. They calmed down after a few seconds, but their genuine smiles never left their mouths, even when Niki waved goodbye to the people in the room and walked out of the building, taking the light of the outside sky with her as the door closed behind her back.

It took a moment for Fundy's tail to stop excitedly waggling behind his back.

"Ok ! Now that that's done, does anyone have any other objection to bring up ?"

Schlatt honestly expected to hear a remark coming from Wilbur and Tommy's side of the room, given how perplexed both of their faces still looked.

Which was the main reason why he was startled when a voice started speaking behind his back.

"Yeah, I do."

When he turned around, the ram's eyes were met by the iron gaze of George, who was holding his huge black and white goggles by the temple, eyebrows frowned and anger shining in his irises.

"Except my question's for Quackity."

Oh ? The duck raised an eyebrow, glancing to his president who nodded at him, then straightened the collar of his vest to appear more dignified before finally looking back at his ex-associate. "What's up ?"

"Oh, don't you 'what's up' me," the usually aloof man spat out, taking all the other people in the room by surprise. "That speech you did right there ? That was damn hypocritical, don't you think ? Getting mad at Schlatt for making his decision without warning you ? Because that sounds awfully familiar."

"Oh, I- I see," the vice president stuttered, his eyes nervously switching between his superior and his friend as he pulled on the side of his beanie to lower it under his ears. "I mean, I get why you're mad, but maybe we can talk about it later ? In a more appropriate place... ?"

"This place seems damn well appropriate to me," George growled, progressively raising his voice. "Oh let me guess, you didn't tell him ? Just like you didn't tell me about the deal you made with him ?"

Oh, that explained that. So his instincts _had_ been right, his associate truly had been lying when he had claimed to have told his friend about their deal. He could have gotten just as mad as the other man, because being lied to was quite frankly one of the things that irritated him the most ; but he figured what would happen next would be enough of a punishment, and he, after all, _had_ committed a similar crime.

"Uh, yeah, about that, he... didn't know either."  
The ram accentuated his vice president's message with a small nod, which only resulted in making the speaker wince. "Look, I'm sorry, but it was the only way for us to win ! I would have told you, I swear, but I didn't even see you !"

"Oh, so now I'm the one guilty in this situation ?"

And then something changed in Quackity's behavior. A realization, an epiphany that turned his defensive posture into an aggressive one, and the remorseful grimace decorating his face into a disbelieving scoff.

"You know what ? Fuck yeah you are ! This whole situation is your fault. None of this would have happened if you hadn't slept through the presidential debate ! If you had been there, if we had presented a united front, then we wouldn't have required the use of a ruse to win ! We would have done it legitimately and you would have been my vice president ! You can only blame yourself here, _George_ !"

The man's name had been pronounced with such venom that it made him physically recoil, one of his hands still holding his goggles while the other tightened into a fist. Schlatt tensed up, ready to intervene in case things turned wrong.

"Oh, great. So that's how it is, huh ? I'm the bad guy that caused all of your problems and you're the poor, mistreated hero who only did what he had to do to survive ? Screw you. You lost because everybody could see that you didn't stand a chance next to Wilbur. My presence during the debate wouldn't have changed a single thing, but I'm glad I wasn't there to hear you whine like a little bitch, and I had to start over, I'd gladly sleep through it again, and willingly this time."

The president could see his vice president's anger falter for a moment, showing how hurt he was during a brief second before immediately shutting down and clenching his jaw even tighter. He wanted to say something, but George wasn't even done talking yet.

"You know what ? I'm done here. I never should have come. I truly wanted to help you out, you know ? God, I even got in trouble with Dream for doing so, for collaborating with the enemy nation. I thought it would be worth it in the end, but it turns out you're just a hypocrite. I'm done. See you. Bye."

And just like that he left, too quickly to let anyone even react to his brutal departure, slamming the door behind him so violently that Schlatt could have sworn he saw some dust fall off the stone walls.

The entire group stood still in complete dismay, no one seeming to be able to come up with the right words to break the tension that had fallen upon the room. That was his responsibility as a leader, Schlatt realized when he caught the glances of both Quackity and Fundy going to him.

"Well !" he announced, clapping his hands once to get everyone's attention, though it probably was unnecessary since the mere sound of his voice made everyone jump. "That was... surprising, to say the least. Quackity, are you alright ?"

The duck bit his lower lip before shaking his head, something haunted dancing behind his eyes. "I don't think I am, but uh. It's not like we can do much about it anyway. Just... go on with whatever you were about to do."

Though worried, the ram gave him a slight nod before continuing. "There aren't that many of us left, I see. And sadly, I'm going to have to reduce that number even further. Tommy, you're out."

Now that caused a reaction from the raccoon that had been way too quiet since their arrival in the building.

"What ? Are you shitting me right now ? Why ? I want to be in this government ! What the fuck ?"

"I know," Schlatt smirked as he stepped forward, looking the teenager down to assert his dominance. "But that doesn't matter. You're not qualified to be part of this, so just go home."

"Wait, not qualified ? Schlatt, what the hell does that mean ?" Wilbur chimed in, making Schlatt roll his eyes with a loud sigh.

"See Wilbur, I may not always follow the law," which was most likely a very bad thing to admit as a newly elected president, but then again, had there ever been a completely clean president in all of History ? "but I'm not really big on child labor. I'm not making a ten year-old kid work for my administration."

"Oi, I'm sixteen, dickhead !" Tommy shouted, brandishing his fist in front of him before his brother spread an arm before him to prevent him from attacking the ram.

"Same difference," Schlatt shrugged.

"It's really not," the boar sighed. "At sixteen, he's legally old enough to have a job."

The businessman's smirk only increased as he raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, and is that old enough to recruit him as a soldier and make him fight in a war ?"

Wilbur recoiled as if he had been punched, sending a murderous glare Schlatt's way while trying to find the proper words to answer.

"Don't try to lecture me about the war, you didn't fight in it !"

"Maybe I didn't, but at least if I had, I wouldn't have recruited literal children."

How hypocritical was he being given what Karl had told him about his future self's employment of Tubbo ? He still didn't know what could have led future him to do that, but he certainly wasn't going to let that happen this time.

"I chose to fight, bitch, I made a choice and it led me here ! I fought just as well and as much as everyone else ! I deserve to be a part of this government !"

Tommy's striped tail was furiously swishing behind him, his ears flattened against his skull in pure anger. Unluckily for him, Schlatt had never been that impressed by attempts at displays of strength, and a teenager wasn't going to be the one to make him change his attitude.

"Stop it, buddy, you're only making a fool out of yourself. Get out, go find Tubbo, and lead the nice, happy lives you two should have lead for a long time now. I'm not changing my mind."

The raccoon bared his teeth, visibly preparing to launch himself at the man, but was interrupted by Wilbur's hand laying on his shoulder, his brother making him turn towards him to give him a small sign of the head.

"Come on, Tommy. Do as he says. We'll talk later."

Opening his mouth to protest, the teenager stopped and huffed, before he stormed out of the White House, its door once again being violently slammed.

And then there was silence again. Schlatt and Wilbur kept staring at each other, as if any movement from the other meant a declaration of war. They were both threatening and studying each other, creating such a tension that Quackity and Fundy exchanged a look before both shaking their heads, unwilling to separate the other two and risk being in the middle of those stares.

Eventually, the ex-president broke the silence.

"He's going to hate you for that, you know."

"Oh please," the businessman rolled his eyes, "as if he didn't already hate me for, I don't know, stealing your election or whatever. At least now he has a somewhat valid reason of doing so. I still stand my ground, by the way."

The boar groaned, his tail twitching in irritation behind his back. "Look, I didn't _want_ to bring a child into this war. It just all mostly started with him and Dream, and his conflict around his dear discs. I wouldn't have recruited him if I had had a choice, but we had so few soldiers and he really wanted to get involved-"

"What about Tubbo, then ?"

The words had left his mouth before he could control it, surprising himself a little. They had been too cold. He had spent the day slipping out of his smug persona, but at least his earlier mistakes had been rather positive on the people around him ; this one only earned him the curious looks of both of the men listening to the conversation, as well as another irritated groan from Wilbur.

"The discs are his too ! And he's Tommy's best friend ! He would never have let him go to war without accompanying him. At least I tried to stay by their side to keep them safe !"

"Oh wow, doing the bare minimum, what a hero, do you want a medal ?" The sarcasm inside of Schlatt's voice was enough to make the other man frown, but he didn't give him time to snap back. "Save your breath, Wilbur, I'm not here to listen to you making excuses. Some of us are trying to govern a nation here."

"About that !" Fundy chimed in, raising his hand in a childish gesture, "Do you know exactly... what we'll be doing ? I mean- Govern, obviously, but what is our role ? Do we just sit around a table and discuss stuff ? Or do we, like, divide our tasks ?"

"Obviously you've never done politics," Schlatt snickered.

"Neither have you," Quackity intervened with a smirk.

"That's right, neither have I ! Guess we'll have to make it up on the spot. But yeah, we're definitely dividing our tasks. We all get to have a specific role, woo !"

"Wait, wait, wait," Wilbur interrupted him, his face scrunched up in confusion, "I didn't say I was agreeing to your plan."

The ram just looked at him for a second before smiling.

"We'll you're still here, aren't you ?"

That somehow seemed to have an effect on Wilbur, as he blinked twice in surprise before looking down, grabbing his chin with two of his finger in a pensive motion. His eyes kept switching between the floor and Schlatt's face as he muttered a few incomprehensible words, before he grimaced and finally looked back up.

"How do I know I can trust you ?"

"You don't. I could easily betray you at any given point. But if I had wanted to do that, I would have done it already, don't you think ?"

"What are your motivations ? Why are you doing this ?"

"Jesus, were you always this redundant ? I just want what's best for everyone, and if everyone includes me, I certainly won't say no."

"That's bullshit. You don't care."

"If you think so. But wouldn't you be able to stop me from doing bad things more easily if you stayed here ?"

Schlatt could almost see the cogs turning inside of his ex-friend's head before the man finally sighed and nodded.

"Alright. You win. I'm joining. But you better not be fucking planning something shady."

"Oh, buddy, I'm always planning something shady," the ram smirked as he brandished his hand in front of him, waiting for Wilbur to grab it before shaking his. "Welcome to the team."

Both exchanged a nod before stepping away from each other, the boar seemingly wiping his hand on his sleeve, which made the ram chuckle.

"You were talking about roles, Schlatt... ?" Fundy talked again, his ears twitching.

"Right, I was. Obviously I'm the president and Quackity here is my vice president. You two, however, don't have a specific rank for now. Now I do have an idea for you, Wilbur. How would you like to become my Secretary of State ?"

The ex-president tilted his head, confusion flashing across his face. "What ?"

"See, you were president until today, and quite literally the founder of this whole nation. So I figured, who better to deal with foreign matters than you ? The people of the Dream SMP already know you, and you're more knowledgeable than I am about them. That should facilitate discussion, right ? So what do you say ?"

Wilbur's ears slowly perked up during the entirety of Schlatt's speech as the man realized the truth in his words. He refrained from speaking for a few seconds, to pretend to think about it, but the president could clearly see that his interest had been piqued.

"Alright," he eventually let out, a mixture of curiosity and distrust dancing in his eyes, "that does seem like quite the appealing offer. I just might accept it."

"You're making the right choice ! As for you, Fundy..." The fox's ears flattened against his head in anticipation. "To be fair, I'm not sure what role to give you. I don't really know you that well yet, you know. So what would you like to be ?"

Taken by surprise, the man uttered a few meaningless syllables before taking himself back into his own hands and straightening the tie of his suit.

"Uh, I'm not... sure ? I don't actually know what a government needs, so, uh... maybe something linked to... I don't know, handling money ?"

Schlatt raised an eyebrow at him before smirking. "Well then, how would you like to become my Secretary of the Treasury ?"

Fundy's eyes shone with joy.

"Yes ! I would be absolutely honored to !"

The fox was obviously trying to keep a straight face, but his waggling tail betrayed him. Schlatt laughed a little at that sight before clasping his hands together.

"Right ! Well, now that we're done with that, you gentlemen have all day free. Make sure to rest and enjoy your last free hours, because from tomorrow on we'll be absolutely knees deep in work, but it will be worth it. At least I hope so," he added, earning chuckles from the other three men. "Now, you all are dismissed !"

And with that, he walked out of the White House, sighing in relief as he breathed the fresh air of the outside then cringing when he was almost blinded by the sun. God, he was going to have to do something about that building.

"Wait !"

The voice coming from behind him made him turn around, meeting an out of breath Quackity's sunglasses before the duck stopped and put a hand on his chest, breathing heavily.

"God, you really have to stop walking out of places after making your announcements. I don't have the cardio to keep running after you like that."

"Oh, but who am I without some dramatic effect ?" Schlatt smirked.

From the corner of his eye, the ram caught sight of Wilbur and Fundy, both of them walking out of the building as well. They, however, didn't pay attention to him, but instead looked at each other. Neither of them said anything, but both looked on the verge of saying something, that they unfortunately left unsaid. The uneasiness of the moment eventually caught up to them, making them exchange a tense nod before walking away from each other.

"Hm. Those two don't seem to get along, do they ?"

"I mean," Quackity shrugged, "Fundy did compete against his father to steal his power away from him. I can understand why they would be a little awkward. It's ok, families stick together, they'll make up at some point."

The president let out a bitter laugh.

"Oh, I'm not so sure of that. Family just sucks sometimes. It's not an unbreakable bond that makes everything better."

"Oh, bad experience with your parents ?"

"Something like that."

The vice president shot him a curious look, raising an eyebrow, but Schlatt didn't bother adding anything more to that.

"Well anyway, I don't know if Fundy and Wilbur are going to stay mad at each other for too long. Without taking their link into consideration, they are both able to hold a grudge for a while, but in such conditions... who knows, maybe they'll unite against us ?"

"Not that it's a bad idea, but I'd rather have us all cooperate than divide into groups, you know ?"

Quackity looked in his eyes, his expression undecipherable, then sighed and took off his sunglasses.

"Listen, man. I'm not saying it's a bad thing or anything, but... are you sure you're ok ? I mean. Just yesterday, we seemed to be on the same wavelength of getting Wilbur away from power, of winning and doing things our way, and now you're just so... soft. Hell, you mentioned banishing him at some point, and now you're offering him a job in your government ? What the hell happened ?"

Their eyes met, and for a moment there Schlatt was hit by the genuine concern they contained. By the worry Quackity displayed. For a moment he was tempted to come clean about the events of the night before, about the visit and everything he had been revealed, about the future, about the monster he didn't want to become but might not be able to avoid turning into, about the weight of the responsibilities he had been thrown at by some frog guy in a colored coat who had decided that he was the key upon which the fate of all the nation depended.

He didn't.

Because he remembered Karl's words, because the man probably already knew Quackity and because the duck most likely had no idea of his friend's time travelling shenanigans.

But also because he didn't want to inflict what he was going through to another person. Especially not Quackity. The man didn't deserve to question each and every of his moves, to wonder what the consequences of each of his words would be on the future, to ask himself if he was dooming everyone simply by keeping the power he had earned.

Maybe lying to him was the wrong choice. Maybe that was the first – well, definitely not the first, but the most significant – lie of a series that would lead him to progressively hiding all the truth to his partner until he became a dictator once again.

But was there truly a right choice there ? Was there a wrong and a right answer, would that alone determine everything that had yet to come ? He didn't know. He could only play with the cards he had been dealt, and he had to trust himself to not let himself fall into tyranny. At least Karl hadn't appeared out of nowhere to bash his skull in with a mace yet, so he could only assume that he was doing a good, or at least acceptable, job so far.

So he lied.

"I just thought a lot, you know ? About everything. You do know that I used to be friends with Wilbur, right ?"

A nod. "That's why he expected you to endorse him."

"Yeah, exactly. Obviously that didn't turn out so well for him, but... I don't know, man. I guess I still have some kind of hope that things can get better. And hey, who knows what he might have done if he had been kept away from his precious country ?" He did, of course, but that wasn't the point.

"Ok ? But what about Niki and Fundy ? Why did you support them ?"

"I just thought we might need allies in the future. Fear is a nice motivator, but I don't want to risk a rebellion. Respect ? Now that's more like it." He paused, before huffing with a stomp of his hoof on the grass. "Are you done asking questions I've already answered ? Can we move on now ?"

Quackity considered the question for a few seconds, then raised a single finger, a smirk spreading on his face.

"Only one. Do you want to go eat somewhere ? My treat. We fucking won this election, man, we deserve to celebrate a little !"

Schlatt blinked, taken by surprise. An early lunch ? He didn't feel that hungry... which, now that he thought of it, surprised him, considering that he hadn't eaten in the morning or during the evening before. That wasn't the first time it had happened that week, though. Oh, he just had had other preoccupations.

All in all, the idea of eating wasn't a particularly pleasing one, but the hope in his vice president's eyes and voice was enough to convince him. Hell, the duck was right, they did deserve a little celebration.

"Fine with me," he shrugged, putting a nonchalant attitude on, "but I'm the one paying. I refuse to be treated by a man who wears the same beanie every day."

"Aw, come on baby girl, don't you want me to spoil you a little ?" Quackity teased him.

"If you ever call me baby girl again, I will break every single bone in your body."

The other man burst out laughing and put a hand on the ram's shoulder, struggling a little because of their height difference, to lead him away from the White House, presumably to a restaurant of some sort. His laugh was contagious ; Schlatt allowed an amused smile to float to his lips before following his guidance.

That had been quite the eventful day, hadn't it ? He wasn't even quite sure he had fully processed everything that had happened yet, and he _had_ played a major role in most of them.

Had his actions been enough to save them all from a whole apocalyptic future ? Probably not yet. But he had tried and he would keep trying until he either was crowned in glory or drowned in the depths of his torments.

He still had a lot to do, a lot to achieve. But he had hope. He was going to save this nation or die trying.

Let future come at him. He was ready.


	5. The Walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Schlatt observes and hesitates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh- canon, huh ?  
> Yeah, I don't know what's happening there either, but I'm excited to see what the writers have in store for us :)  
> In the meantime, new fix-it chapter ! Featuring one of my favorite streamers :>  
> Not much progress here, but some interactions, leading to one big discussion soon !  
> Also I changed the names of the previous chapter, because I wasn't satisfied by the whole "Part" thing :o  
> Hm... Enjoy your reading ? ^^

Perhaps Schlatt had had a little too much hope for the future.

Perhaps.

At least things could have been a lot worse.

There hadn't been any major incident so far. Well, there hadn't been anything major so far, really. The past week had been filled with endless paperwork, more than the ram had ever seen, and he _was_ a businessman. Yet there he had been, sitting in a chair from nine to five in that God forsaken White House, drinking way too much coffee for his own good because it was necessary to keep his eyes from closing out of boredom.

He had expected things to be a little more... concrete, to be fair. But he guessed he couldn't complain, the less important choices he had to make, the less likely he was to mess up.

As for the other people in his cabinet... well. They hadn't had any major confrontation or argument yet, which was good. But he knew it was only because of how busy they had been. They had barely communicated during the week, except for when the president had assigned them their share of work ; that didn't leave much room for bickering.

It was unlikely to last for long. So far, they had only needed to manage small things, notably communication with the citizens and maintenance of infrastructures ; however, as soon as they were going to move on to bigger subjects, there was undoubtedly going to be a lot more debates.

Schlatt was not a fearful man. He knew how to confront people, he knew how to make his point, he knew how to poke his opponent's weaknesses and make them bend under his hoof and his iron will.

At least, he knew how to do those in situations that didn't threaten his own life as well as the happiness of a whole nation. But now he had to be careful and make sure that whatever he did wasn't threatening enough to anger Wilbur and potentially lead to his death and the destruction of L'Manberg. Same with Quackity and Fundy, who knew what could happen if things went wrong ?

Maybe he was turning a little paranoid. But that was for the best, right ?

A quick look at his clock interrupted the man's thoughts, making him sigh as he noticed that the needle was getting dangerously close to the time of his departure. He usually tried to arrive early to work to maintain a proper image, so he stirred his coffee before drinking it all in one go, grimacing at the familiar bitterness that he somehow appreciated, then left the cup next to the sink and went to fetch his suit jacket.

He had been missing quite a lot of meals, he noticed once again as the thought of a breakfast crossed his mind and immediately exited it. He wasn't as hungry as he usually was, but that was most likely linked to how busy he had been ; hell, Quackity had brought him lunch once or twice out of his own volition, simply because the ram had forgotten to take a break to eat. Schlatt would never admit how much he appreciated it. Not in front of anyone, at least.

He stopped in front a mirror to straighten his tie, but couldn't prevent his eyes from going to his waist. Had he lost weight ? Maybe ? It kind of felt that way, but he couldn't be sure of anything without a scale, and he didn't have time for that at the moment.

Finally pushing the door of his house, he squinted for a few seconds to get used to the sudden amount of light before walking out in the warmth. It was almost October already, the weather shoudn't have been that hot, and yet there they were. He could have gone out in a short-sleeved t-shirt if he had wanted to. And if he had had no professional conscience, which, unfortunately for Quackity who kept rambling about wanting him to show off his arm, he did have and wasn't going to let go of before a while.

As usual, the splatter of black on the verge of his vision caught his eyes.

There stood the huge, dark, tenacious walls of L'Manberg. They were made of obsidian, Schlatt had learned, and had been built during the war to prevent the enemies of the nation from being able to attack them too easily ; yet now, they didn't exactly serve any purpose except obstructing the view and being annoying as a whole.

He had to admit, he had been quite impressed by then when he had first arrived, when he had been welcomed at the gate by a man whose name he didn't even remember, when he had stepped into the pitch-black enclosure and discovered the civilization it was hiding ; but he just didn't see the point anymore.

What were they except a bother ? Sure, they had been meant to protect the nation in times of war, but the war was over, it had been for a while now, and now the walls were hindering their progress. They were preventing trades, preventing most visits, preventing a potential expansion of their land. They had turned into the walls of a prison.

Schlatt had thought about tearing them down, of course he had. He was the president, after all, he had the power to make that happen. But things were never as simple as they seemed.

Wilbur had been the one to order to build the walls, and he was not going to be happy with the ram's suggestion – God forbid he made it an order. Schlatt knew they would eventually get into conflict, of course, but he was rather reluctant to be the one to make it happen, especially so shortly after his election. He wanted to at least try to maintain the relative ceasefire they had managed to establish for a little while longer.

That wasn't his only reason, though. If it had been, he would have let himself get convinced by his own arguments. Sure, that would have led to a lot of arguing and a very mad Wilbur, but what else was new.

What did stop him, though, was the words of Karl.

Because he was almost certain he had heard him mention destroying the walls as part of his future self's actions, and that thought was pressuring enough to keep himself under control.

He still didn't know if his choice had been the right one. The time traveler hadn't bothered to show up to either confirm that he had indeed saved the entire country or brutally murder him during his sleep. He took that as a rather good sign, but the lack of certitude left an inkling of doubt in the back of his mind.

What if taking down the walls was the action that would lead the boar to create his... secret rebellion, or whatever it was called ? What if that was the trigger ?

That was a moronic thought, he was completely aware of that. From what Karl had told him, future Wilbur's actions had been driven by his madness after being banished from the nation he had created, and the effect of bringing down the walls shouldn't be anywhere near that ; yet he couldn't stop the nagging apprehension to come back each time his thoughts went to the walls.

Speaking of which, he thought as his eyes caught a speck of color, creating a contrast on the dark surface of the wall nearest to his home. Two specks of color, actually, now that he payed attention to them. Moving ones, too.

There stood Tommy and Tubbo, sneaking around in what they probably thought to be the most stealthy behavior possible but was actually quite obvious to anyone who payed a little attention to them, glancing around to ensure that they were safe – which they weren't, since Schlatt was very clearly watching them from the middle of the street, yet they somehow missed him – before walking towards the wall.

The president tilted his head. What were those two up to today ? He hadn't exactly witnessed them do anything during the short period of time he had spent campaigning, but he had heard more than enough about them from literally everyone to be suspicious, especially after seeing by himself a few reports of light arson committed in public spaces that somehow all seemed to tie in with the coincidental presence of a duo of children who, however, hadn't witnessed anything weird going on.

Yeah, he had to check what they were doing now, if only to have a peaceful conscience. If they were indeed just hanging around, then he would leave them alone ; but for some reason, he had a feeling that wasn't going to be the case.

Schlatt strayed from the stone path, the sound of his hooves quickly quietening as he stepped on the grass and accelerated his pace a little. He, at least, did have some skills in spying and camouflage. Which he had acquired completely legally, of course.

He was faster than the two kids, which was surprising given their age difference ; then again, they were trying to go unnoticed, which they seemed to associate with a general slowness of movement. Once again, that was not the best idea, but Schlatt had a feeling sneaking around was not the most appreciated skill he could teach the children.

He could hear them as well thanks to his enhanced hearing, perk of being a hybrid. Well they were hybrids as well, but neither had as much range as he did, be it because of their age or of their lack of experience.

"We're clear," Tommy told Tubbo in one of the least quiet whispers Schlatt had ever heard. He couldn't refrain from letting out a snort at the kids' misplaced confidence.

As he spoke, however, the blonde teenager approached the wall closest to him, and started pushing against something that obeyed way too easily for it to be obsidian, before ushering his friend inside of the cavity he had formed and disappearing inside of it himself.

After waiting a few seconds to make sure they weren't going to come out of it, Schlatt made his way to the spot the boys had disappeared in, laying a hand on the wall to try and feel the texture of it underneath his palm.

Bingo, he thought as he felt the cold and rough feeling of the magma stone shift into a much smoother and familiar material. It was wood, a wooden door, painted in dark purple ink to make it blend in with the rest of the wall. It was a very good job, too, enough for him to not have noticed at first ; but now that he knew where the line stood, he could see the difference between the two.

The ram put his ear on the door to determine whether the two teenagers were still in there, then, satisfied by the lack of both noise and vibrations, pushed it and entered the dark corridor it had been hiding. The place was small, tight, almost enough to make him claustrophobic, but luckily enough it was also short, and he got out of it as soon as he could, only to be blinded by the sudden light attacking his eyes.

A few seconds were enough for him to recover his vision and face the place he had been led to. A forest, judging by the endless amount of tall, proud trees standing before him. He assumed it was the forest surrounding L'Manberg, simply because it was the most reasonable option compared to both "those darned kids led me through a portal and now I'm stuck in the Twilight dimension" and "I died during my sleep and that corridor was the one leading me to a very green, very leafy paradise".

His ears perked up at the sound of leaves creaking under two people's feet, who were just as inconspicuous in the forest as in the city. He just had to follow the noise they were making to stay on their trail, which quickly led him to a nice, open clearing in the middle of the woods.

Tommy and Tubbo stood there, looking around carefully, which made Schlatt take a step back and make sure to stay under the cover of the trees ; but they weren't trying to make sure they hadn't been followed anymore. Rather, they seemed to be looking, waiting for something, or most likely, for someone.

A peaceful moment went by before Tommy decided to open his mouth and break the enjoyable silence.

"He lied to us, Tubbo. He's not here. I knew we shouldn't have trusted that guy–"

"Just wait a little," Tubbo sighed in exasperation, "he probably just hasn't made it here yet. He doesn't know the woods as well as we do."

"Yeah ? Well that's bullshit. Why are we even trusting that guy ? He tried to kill us ! We shouldn't have come here."

"Oh, come one Tommy. What, are you scared ? Are you a pussy ?"

Schlatt grinned as Tubbo stroke just the right cord to get Tommy to stop complaining. About that subject, at least.

"A pussy ? Me ? Never. I'm not scared. I'm not a pussy. If anything, you're the pussy. I'm going to stay here until that bitch arrives and you'll see. I bet he won't even show up, that's how much of a bitch he is."

"You have so little faith in me, it would hurt if I cared about your opinion."

The duo jumped at the sudden appearance of the new voice, as well as its owner's. Schlatt didn't, simply because the man, although certainly more stealthy than the two teenagers – which, to be fair, wasn't all that hard –, couldn't mask the sound of his steps enough to prevent a trained hybrid's hearing from picking it up.

The stranger approached Tubbo and Tommy, his face hidden by the hood of his white striped hoodie, that he quickly pushed back to reveal blonde hair attached in an unkempt man bun and a messy beard under a warm smile that convinced Schlatt not to intervene for now. A large blue trident was hanging on his back and an eye of Ender glowed green in the middle of his chest, hanging from a golden chain that served as a pendant.

The most noticeable thing about him, though, was the being he carried around, on a leash.

A cow.

Even alone, that point was an attention-catching one ; but it was nothing compared to the sheer joy that shone on Tommy's face as he yelled "Henry !" and ran towards the bovine before he knelt next to it and hugged his neck with the desperation of someone who was just seeing a friend they hadn't seen in months.

"Wow, so much attention for the cow and so little for me, I'm hurt," the man said with as much sarcasm as a human voice could contain without losing his chill.

Tubbo nodded with a giggle.

"Thank you so much for showing up, Punz. And for offering to give us Henry back, of course. Tommy won't ever admit it but he's just as thankful as I am, if not more."

"Definitely not, bitch !" Tommy's voice rang, muffled because of his face still stuffed inside of the animal's fur.

"The pleasure's all mine," 'Punz' smirked as he glanced at the blonde kid. "How's life in there ? Everything ok ? George came back to the SMP but didn't tell us much about what had happened. Well; he did tell Dream and Sapnap, just not me. I heard something about an election though ?"

"Oh ! Yeah, yeah," Tubbo nodded, "Wilbur decided to have a democratic election and he lost, so we have a new president now. His name's Schlatt. He's... I don't know. I think Will knew him a long time ago ? He seemed pretty scary when he announced that he would run for president. But he's been ok since ? He even gave Will a job as his Secretary of State, so things are fine so far. Oh, and he's a sheep hybrid too, so I'm not alone anymore !"

"That's good," Punz smiled as he laid a hand on the kid's shoulder.

Schlatt frowned.

"What about you ?" Tubbo inquired. "What's been happening recently ? Is Purpled ok ?"

"Yeah, he's doing fine. There hasn't been a lot happening around here since your whole independence thing. We're building stuff, my tower's progress is going great, but apart from that... eh. Not much."

"I don't want to hear about your progress and Purpled's health," Tommy growled as he finally got up, though he kept a hand on his cow's neck.

"Well I do !" the lamb whined back. "We barely know what's happening outside of L'Manberg. I understand Will's concern, but he's way too harsh with everything Dream SMP-related. I bet if I even mentioned Eret's name in his presence he would go on one of his long, angry rants about how much of a traitor they are, and completely forbid me from ever seeing them again for like, the twelfth time now."

"Well he's right you know. I don't want to have anything to do with that traitor."

"Tommy..."

"I mean," the blonde man shrugged, "I'm not going to pretend like I'm an expert at diplomacy or anything, but maybe you should talk to him about your issues ? Isn't communication the key to a good relationship or something ?"

"I'm not dating my brother, Punz," Tubbo deadpanned as the raccoon mimed throwing up behind him.

"Relationship in the wider meaning of the term, dummy." The man coupled his statement with a bark of laughter before playfully punching the younger one's arm.

"But yeah, yeah, I see what you mean, it's just... I don't think Will will listen to me, even if I try to talk to him. He hasn't been the most... open recently, and I'm just a child, so what do I know about politics, huh ?"

Huh.

"Sounds like I might be able to lend you a hand, gentlemen," Schlatt stated, walking between the trees to finally enter the clearing.

The sound of his voice made all three of the people there jump in surprise before they turned towards him, their gestures defensive, ready to fight. The stranger – Punz, apparently –walked in front of the children and brandished his trident, earning him an appreciative nod that he didn't seem to know how to react to.

"Stay back !" The man shouted. "Who are you ?"

"Schlatt, it's not what you think !" Tubbo exclaimed before the ram could answer, making Punz briefly glance at him in surprise before focusing back on the intruder.

"Oh really ?" Schlatt asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's curious. What do I think, then ? Please, do enlighten me."

An awkward silence fell upon them, between Schlatt waiting for an answer, Tubbo struggling to provide one, and Punz appearing to be aware that this was not his conversation to participate in ; thankfully, it was broken by Tommy, the raccoon stepping in front of the blonde man, his tail swishing and his arms crossed.

"Fine, we're meeting up with people from outside of L'Manberg even though Wilbur told us not to. Are you happy now ? Are you going to report us to him ?"

"Tommy !" came the lamb's worried exclamation.

"What ? He's seen us outside the borders, talking to this guy. It's not like we can defend ourselves. At least we got Henry back."

Schlatt eyes went from Tommy to Tubbo, then to Punz, and to Tommy again, judging, analyzing the situation, maintaining his poker face for as long as he deemed necessary.

"Look, Schlatt..." Tubbo stepped forward, fidgeting despite the assured look in his eyes. "We... we know we're not really supposed to do that. We should follow the rules and all of that, but... Man, those rules are stupid ! Wilbur won't let us see anyone outside of L'Manberg, even though they're our friends ! And sure, I get it for Sapnap or Punz, because they were our enemies during the war, we fought against them ; but what about Purpled ? What about Sam or Bad ? What about Callahan, or Alyssa ? They didn't participate, we didn't fight them, but we still can't see them and it's unfair ! I want to see my friends !"

The president had a hard time focusing, simply because the boy getting closer meant that the two of them were close enough for their herd instinct to kick in, immediately releasing that warm and safe feeling they both felt at the same time and fought against to keep their heads clear.

"I don't want to see _Alyssa_ ," Tommy grunted, "but he's right. It's starting to get annoying. Those walls just make the whole city feel like a jail ! I thought we were supposed to be free from Dream's tyranny, not trapped and afraid of his next move !"

Schlatt simply tilted his head, silently weighing his options despite the cloud of cotton that was filling his head and mind.

On one hand, he had the opportunity to tell Wilbur on the two kids, and get them punished, as well as the security reinforced. What would be his interest in that ? He didn't get any profit from more control over the circulation in L'Manberg, on the contrary.

On the other hand, he had the possibility to just... let it slide, ignore what the two were doing, scold them for good measure but allow them to keep going. Once again, that option wasn't really beneficial for him.

That only left the third option, the third hand – uh, nevermind – : not only letting them go free, but also helping them.

"I see. You two are raising quite the important issue. You're saying you would like to have more freedom ? To be able to see people more easily ? To, say, have an easy way out of L'Manberg ?"

Visibly still tense about what Schlatt was planning, the two kids slowly nodded, staring at him with such intensity that the businessman couldn't refrain from snorting.

"Whoa, chill, you two, you're not in trouble. In fact, that is something I've been meaning to mention with my cabinet. Here, would you two say tearing down the walls surrounding L'Manberg would help ? Do you think it could facilitate contact and conversation ?"

Tubbo's eyes widened, his mouth forming the shape of an "o" as he turned towards his brother excitedly. The blonde kid didn't share the same enthusiasm, his eyebrows still frowned in distrust, but he did appear to relax, if only a little, as Schlatt's speech went on.

"Yes, we do," the brunette answered for the two of them, catching Tommy's hand and nodding vigorously.

His brother shrugged, but Schlatt could see the spark of interest he had ignited in his eyes, despite the boy trying to hide it.

"Well then, I'll have to see what I can do about that ! In the meantime... I'm going to have to bring you two back to L'Manberg. You know, just to make sure you do get back."

"Oh... can't we stay a little longer ?" the lamb asked, his ears drooping in disappointment.

"Sorry kid, it's better for everyone. Who knows what kind of creature you might encounter on your way back ?"

"I mean," Punz intervened, "we're like twenty feet away from the border, I'm a trained fighter and you don't even have a weapon. Are you sure you need to accompany them ?"

"I don't see a need to stay here," Tommy swooped in in his usual annoyed tone as he grabbed the leash of his cow. "I've got Henry back. We can go."

"Wow, so you won't talk to me now that you've gotten what you needed from me ? So mean," the adult whined, feigning being hurt by putting a hand over his heart and acting like he'd been shot.

The goofy performance got a giggle out of the kids, which appeared to satisfy the man who nodded and walked back.

"Well then, guess I'll get going. Stay well, you two, and contact me if you need something else !"

"Will do !" Tubbo answered as Tommy rolled his eyes despite the smirk covering his face.

And just like that, Punz put his hood up again before stepping out of the clearing, the back of his white hoodie slowly disappearing in the shadows of the woods. Schlatt waited until the sound of his steps had completely faded out to turn towards the duo again.

"So ! Are you two ready to go back home ?"

Both of the children nodded but neither of them moved, much to Schlatt's disarray, who had to add, after a few seconds, "I can't lead the way, you know. This is the first time I'm coming here and my sense of direction is absolute shit."

"Oh," the raccoon sneered, "so that whole speech about our safety was just an excuse to get a GPS to bring _you_ home, then ?"

"I don't know, was it ?" Schlatt smirked back, a provoking look in his eyes. "So what, are you scared ? Do you not know the way back either ?"

Tommy's ears immediately perked up as he frowned, his eyes glimmering with his need to answer the ram's challenge, before he started walking in the direction Schlatt assumed to be L'Manberg's, probably as quickly as he could thanks to the bovine following his steps.

"Come on, bitch, you're too slow !" he yelled over his shoulder despite his own rather weak speed.

"Watch your tongue when talking to your president !" Schlatt yelled back, sniggering when he heard the faint sound of the kid blowing a raspberry.

A faint smile on his face, he turned to Tubbo and encouraged him to walk with a sign of the head, before starting to move himself ; he was, however, stopped by the boy's hand on his arm.

"Hey, uh, Schlatt ? I just wanted to say..." he sounded hesitant, almost trembling, which prompted the ram to put a hand on his shoulder, grounding him and encouraging him to speak, to which Tubbo swallowed his saliva and nodded. "Uh, well... thank you. For giving Will his job, and for not being mad at us right now. I– I don't know if he thanked you himself, but you know, both he and Tommy are kind of prideful, so he won't ever admit his gratitude to you. And Tommy's kind of mad that you kicked him out of the government, but... he will get over it. And I'm glad that we can have fun together instead of him being stuck in an office. So yeah, thank you."

Schlatt was stunned by the lamb's honesty. He knew exactly what he meant about Wilbur's pride, hell, he was just like him in that aspect, so he couldn't really blame the boar ; but hearing Tubbo thank him with such sincerity and gratitude warmed his heart a lot more than he was willing to admit.

So instead of speaking, he pulled the child closer to him, spreading an arm around his shoulder before ruffling his brown hair, careful to avoid the nubs of his horns.

"Come on, buddy, don't be so dramatic, it's no big deal ! Here, you're welcome. Now let's catch up with your pal before he gets too big-headed."

And he went along with a little push in the kid's back, staring straight in front of him to avoid facing the embarrassment of the situation staying still in silence after such a declaration would create.

They quickly managed to reach the huge black walls, in front of which Tommy was waiting, his arms crossed. As expected, he teased them a little before pushing his pet inside of the corridor and stepping inside right after. Schlatt encouraged Tubbo to get in, then did so himself, careful to replace the dark door in its spot as he closed the line.

"Right. I'll see you kids later, then ?"

"I'll fight you if you call me kid again, old man," Tommy joked before he was elbowed by his brother.

"Ok, bye Schlatt !" the other teenager continued, taking the blonde's hand and leading him away.

The businessman watched them get smaller and smaller with amusement, before looking up at the sky and grimacing. There was no way for him to not be late, and he would definitely be mocked by Wilbur for that reason ; but he had more important subjects to debate about, he decided as he started walking to the White House.

It didn't take long for him to arrive in front of the grey building's wooden doors, which he pushed to discover the first floor empty of living beings. The other three had to be in their offices on the second floor, he assumed, his feet leading him to his own, which he entered without a second glance.

He probably should have payed more attention before walking in, though, because that may have spared him the shock of seeing Quackity laying on his desk, having spilled the papers that were covering it everywhere on the floor, eating shrimp from a large bowl resting on his chest.

"What the actual hell are you doing ?" the president exclaimed, his voice empty of any actual anger due to the amount of disbelief he was feeling.

The duck was startled by the sound of his voice, almost falling off of the desk before he managed to grip its borders and regain his balance, then sat up straight, facing Schlatt with the look of a man who was not even slightly ashamed of the position he had been found in.

"Hey there, mister president ! I see you're late for class ? Please, hand me your report card," he teased him, a large grin across his face.

Schlatt raised both of his eyebrows, genuinely stunned by the sheer amount of confidence emanating from the man. The guy had the audacity to get in his office in his absence, make a mess of his clean and organized desk, eat shrimp right there and make a joke when faced with his superior ?

That was the kind of thing anyone would have fired him over ; luckily for him, he was valuable, and Schlatt was both in too good of a mood and too afraid of the potential repercussions of such an action to actually act on his thought.

"Alright, very funny, I'm late, but would be kind enough to explain me why, exactly, you chose my desk to eat shrimp on ? Where did you even get shrimp ?"

"I mean, you weren't there and I didn't want to dirty my papers," Quackity simply shrugged.

Schlatt felt the longest sigh of his life come to his lips. Why, exactly, had he thought cooperating with such a chaotic person, in a field as serious as politics, would be a good idea ?

"Right. I'm too done to deal with whatever this is, will you please call a meeting ? We have things to discuss."

The vice president immediately straightened up. "A meeting ? Now ? Out of the blue ? To talk about what ?"

Schlatt instinctively let his trademark smug smile take over his lips.

"Don't worry about that, I will tell you about everything in due time. For now, though, I need you to fetch Wilbur and Fundy."

Quackity stared at him for a few seconds, a dubious look dancing in his eyes.

"You're not planning on making any other sudden and unannounced decision, are you ? Because I won't be happy if you drop another batch of people in our government."

"Relax, Big Q," the ram started before frowning as he noticed that the nickname everyone had been using for his mate had been growing on him too, "if I'm calling a meeting, it's so that we can discuss it instead of just having me decide something on my own. I told you, no more random announcement."

The duck's face stayed mostly suspicious, but he relaxed slightly, which Schlatt took as a win, before letting out a sigh.

"Fine. I'll go fetch our collaborators. Meet you in the meeting room ?"

"Sure thing !" the businessman answered before Quackity walked out, leaving him alone in his office.

Alright, Schlatt thought as he knelt down to collect the paper sheets that had fallen and put them back in their place. Time for another risky decision.

Karl had told him that bringing down the walls was one of the actions his future self had accomplished, yes ; but that didn't mean that alone would make him go down the same path and become a tyrant... right ?

And he had a good reason to do so too. Tubbo and Tommy themselves had agreed with him on the fact that destroying them would be beneficial, for the people and for the country. So what was pulling him back ?

Fear, mostly. But then again, if Karl's solution had been the only one, if giving up on the presidency had been the only way for them to keep the nation from being destroyed, then it had to already be over for them, right ? He had already disobeyed the time traveler's orders. Weren't they already fucked, then ?

Ah, screw it. He could only trust himself and believe that he was doing the right choice. He was going to do everything he could to stop himself from becoming a dictator, but this step was a necessary one.

The walls had to go.

Schlatt straightened his tie with yet another sigh and closed his eyes to take a deep breath before walking out of his office and down to the first floor.

Time for his first trial.

"Gentlemen," he started as he opened the door to the meeting room, "Welcome to our first cabinet meeting."


End file.
